The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 653 - 385: The Sin Spirit (Second Update)

Chapter 653: Chapter 385: The Sin Spirit (Second Update)

Mushroom City was vast, its dark walls stretching farther than the eye could see.

But there were no weapons on the walls, no guards patrolling outside, only watchtowers.

This was a situation only seen within the city inhabited by Trolians.

It wasn’t until they entered Mushroom City that Rod realized how unique this city was.

There were no buildings inside, only mushroom trees of various sizes and heights—the thick stems of the mushrooms grew like trees, and their layered caps were like balconies; the mushrooms had clearly been hardened, with doors and windows carved into them and lanterns hanging.

Ropes were strung between the mushroom caps, with some clothes drying on them.

Clearly, these mushroom trees were inhabited.

At a glance, Rod saw the mushroom trees stacked layer upon layer, arranged in rows like a mushroom forest, with lanterns glowing like elves hanging from the trees.

Anna spoke with nostalgia, "This is where I grew up, these mushroom trees, and the spiders on them, they make me feel so at home."

Rod didn’t say a word.

The light was dim inside the mushroom forest, casting a somewhat eerie atmosphere.

He found it hard to imagine what it would be like to live here long-term.

Anna, on the other hand, seemed as if she had returned home, running wildly on various paths with all four hooves until she reached an even larger umbrella-shaped mushroom.

"This is the Defense Department of Mushroom City, where all matters related to the city’s defense are handled."

No sooner had she finished speaking than people came rushing out from inside.

"Who’s out there?"

"Whose Spiritual Energy is so dazzling?"

With a thud, Anna transformed back into her human form, smiling and saying, "Uncle Lier, Aunt Para, you’re both here?"

An old man and an old woman shouted in unison, "Anna!"

Rod asked, "Who are they?"

Anna answered, "The city’s executive officers and the Defense Chief."

She turned her head and called out, "Uncle Lier, Aunt Para, this is Rod, a High Rank Combatant, our supporter."

The old man and the old woman both smiled when they saw his Hall robe and the flame emblem on his collar, recognizing him as a warrior from the Hall and a High Rank Combatant sent to support Mushroom City.

The crowd instantly erupted into excitement, rushing toward them.

"Are you the famous Rod?"

"My god, I’m finally seeing you in person!"

"You’re as young as the legends say!"

"Can I touch you?"

Rod smiled and said directly, "We’re short on time, tell me where the monster is."

As he said this, everyone’s faces darkened.

The old man and old woman looked at each other and asked, "Anna, is there anyone else coming?"

Anna replied, "No, Rod is the only supporter."

Everyone quieted down, looking at each other in silence.

In the end, it was the old man who spoke, "Anna, Mister Rod, could there be some misunderstanding at the Hall? This is a Sin Spirit, very strong and with attributes of the Spirit Realm. Typically, we need at least an elite combat unit comprised of High Rank Combatants or three Second Level Combatants to fight it."

The old woman added, "Young Rod doesn’t seem to have completed the Tenth Level Spiritual Energy ascension ceremony and isn’t a Second Level Combatant yet. It’s impossible for him to fight the Sin Spirit."

Rod smiled slightly, "Please trust the Hall’s judgment."

Anna also said, "Uncle Lier, Aunt Para, Rod... he is very strong."

The crowd looked at one another but remained silent.

The old man sighed, "Well, if the Hall has chosen, then we must trust."

He lit a lantern and waved his hand.

"Follow me."

As they walked, the old man briefly outlined the events.

The story was quite simple—last night, about three clock hours ago, their core Planting Zone suddenly experienced an unprecedented fluctuation of Spiritual Energy, causing the monitoring station to burn out due to overload.

Then, a giant black Evil Spirit emerged from midair, and the intense Spiritual Power Shock it unleashed destroyed a large area of the Planting Zone.

Luckily, the Evil Spirit roamed for a short time before returning to the Spirit Realm.

Anna blinked, "It doesn’t seem that serious; maybe the monster has already fled."

Rod frowned, "That makes it serious."

Anna looked at him, surprised, "Why?"

Executive Officer Lier sighed, "Mister Rod is right, as expected from a High Rank Combatant, grasping the core of the issue so quickly."

Aunt Para revealed a slightly relieved smile, "I now understand why the Hall sent only you. Anna, you should learn more from him. Your sisters are fast becoming pillars of humanity."

Anna wrinkled her nose, "But why exactly?"

Lier explained, "The Sin Spirit left behind a mark here; it will come back sooner or later. If it hasn’t gone far, we can wait for it here, but what if it has? Do we station a military unit here permanently?"

Aunt Para sighed, "The Royal City is struggling in the war right now; there’s no way they have so many combatants to spare."

Silence fell upon everyone for a moment, and even Rod felt a sense of crisis.

The creature hadn’t really escaped, had it?

After a short walk, the group arrived at the true area of Mushroom City—the Planting Zone.

At first glance, all one could see were endless mushroom trees, different from the structures on the outskirts. They were only about two to three humans tall, in colors of red, green, blue, and gray, diverse and vibrant, exuding the vitality of the plants.

Some workers tended to the mushroom trees in the forest, trimming the edges of the mushrooms, sweeping away the cobwebs that clung to the trees, and cutting down the rotten mushroom trees.

Others were harvesting mushrooms from the trees, filling baskets with various colors of mushrooms.

The sight was nothing short of peculiar.

Rod almost stared in amazement, but Lier and the others took no notice as they passed straight through this part of the Mushroom Forest and arrived at another planting area.

"Over there is where the Sin Spirit attacked. Fortunately, we evacuated in time, and there were no casualties, but a large swath of mushroom trees was destroyed."

Rod looked over, and the entire Mushroom Forest looked as if it had been hit by a hurricane, with splintered wood and mushrooms strewn across the ground. At least ten thousand mushroom trees were destroyed in an instant.

Everyone’s faces twisted in pain. For the people of Mushroom City, cultivating mushroom trees was their mission, and the mushrooms were their life. Seeing the mushroom trees they’d nurtured so carefully destroyed caused their hearts to bleed.

The loss was too great this time.

"There."

Lier pointed to the west, struggling to conceal his distress.

"That’s the mark left by the Spirit Realm Monster."

Rod followed his gesture and saw a dark, scorched brand upon the earth, like an ugly scar.

Anna whispered, "Can it be removed?"

Uncle Lier gently shook his head, "No, that’s the mark of a soul. The Sin Spirit has remembered this place; removing it would be pointless."

Just then, a few Guardians arrived, escorting a crestfallen fellow.

Lier, seething with anger, said, "He’s the one who caused this disaster!"

Rod looked at him in surprise, "You... aren’t you Frank from Mushroom City?"

This was a teammate he’d once fought alongside against the Insect Queen at the Trident River Battlefield.

He didn’t look anything like a Doomsday believer.

Anna covered her mouth in shock, "Uncle Lier, how did he attract the monster? Is he a Doomsday believer?"

Lier said furiously, "Ask him yourself."

Frank lifted his head, his long face pale and full of remorse, and said weakly, "I’m sorry, this is all my fault. I accidentally attracted the Sin Spirit."

Rod glanced at the Guardians behind him; their anger and dissatisfaction outweighed their vigilance and defensiveness. Clearly, this was an accident rather than an attack by Doomsday believers.

"How did you attract it?" Rod asked curiously.

Frank, downcast, said, "You should know about my characteristic, right? It allows me to alter the attributes of materials to a certain extent. I’m not very strong in direct combat. My inorganic vines couldn’t hold the Insect Queen for even a second. On the Trident River Battlefield, I was just useless, while you were the radiant Savior."

"My talent isn’t that strong either; it seems Ninth Level Spiritual Energy is my limit. Look... you’ve already reached Tenth Level Spiritual Energy, when you were only Eighth Level before. At this rate, when will I ever be able to save the world?"

A Guardian snorted, "You still think about saving the world?"

Frank sighed, "Who doesn’t want to save the world? Who doesn’t want to see the azure and pure world described in books? I, too, was once a genius, but it wasn’t until I reached the Fire Hall that I realized there were many geniuses, and I was just one of the more inconspicuous ones."

"I didn’t want to admit defeat, but my combat ability on the frontline is limited. I can’t possess destructive powers like Brother Rod, who could kill the Insect Queen with a single blast and wipe out half her swarm."

"So I thought, could there be another way for me?"

"After much thought, food is a necessity for human existence. If I could use my characteristics to produce a large amount of food, wouldn’t that help humanity make further progress?"

Rod’s eyes lit up and he praised, "That’s a great idea."

Frank smiled weakly, "Thank you."

Uncle Lier said angrily, "Lord Rod, don’t be fooled by his nonsense. Listen to what he actually did first."

Rod looked at him curiously.

Frank sighed and said, "I’ve been thinking, it’s very troublesome for Sigve Food Factory to make canned mushrooms. It requires a lot of manpower and resources. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if mushroom trees could directly grow canned mushrooms?"

Pfft!

Rod almost burst out laughing.

Canned mushrooms growing on mushroom trees?

Could a normal person come up with such an idea?

Frank continued, "I also thought about how the brewing process for mushroom wine is very complicated and takes up a lot of time for many workers. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if mushroom trees could directly brew mushroom wine?"

Uncle Lier exclaimed angrily, "Then, this guy started his evil ritual in the Mushroom Forest! How did I give birth to such a bastard like you?"

While speaking, Uncle Lier started beating Frank relentlessly.

The latter silently took the beating, not daring to move.

Rod was even more shocked. So you’re family after all.

It was a while before Rod managed to intervene, "Frank, were you successful?"

Frank sighed, "I was half-successful. My changes are too limited and I cannot defy the fundamental properties of matter. So I added some Spirit Realm substances to the mushroom trees and altered the characteristics of the Spirit Realm substances to facilitate their fusion."

Aunt Para sighed, "You unfortunate child, you have no idea what you’ve done."

Rod asked curiously, "What did he do?"

"He created a Spirit Realm Tree, and it was this tree that attracted the Sin Spirit, the most dangerous evil spirit roaming the Spirit Realm. It’s a monster formed from the condensation and corruption of human malevolent thoughts, very interested in all things beyond the ordinary realm of understanding."

Frank, sighing for what seemed like the umpteenth time, said, "I’m sorry, it’s my fault."

Lier shouted angrily, "Is it still useful to apologize now? The White Tower just sent word that the Sin Spirit has moved away from this area and is no longer observable. What do we do now? You tell me!"

Frank’s face turned ashen, mumbling unsuccessfully to speak.

Lier paced angrily on the spot, "We already don’t have enough food this year; Mushroom City can’t be affected any further! We’ve lost our target and have no idea when it might return. What should we do? Deploy an elite team to guard this place at such a critical time?"

The scolding was incessant, and Frank’s complexion grew even more pale and grim.

Rod looked around, walked up to the mark left by the Sin Spirit, touched it with his finger, rubbed it a bit, sensed it with his soul, and suddenly said.

"Don’t worry, I have a plan."