The Last King Of Darkness
Chapter 82 - 66 Flower of Humanity_2

Chapter 82: Chapter 66 Flower of Humanity_2

With a click, gears and axles turned one after another, and the tightly shut door sprang open with a pop.

The carriage interior featured standard rows of seats with a short table in between.

The only difference was, on the short table there sat a blue stone tablet with an inverted round clock upon it.

Rod glanced at it, the longest of the needles had moved outward by one notch, slowly resetting itself.

A quarter of an hour.

A silver coin for a quarter of an hour.

Kind of expensive.

It would take ten thousand silver coins to ride for a little over ninety days.

Rod inserted another coin.

Click.

The round clock advanced outward by a step; now there were two notches.

That should be enough.

After sitting down, Rod noticed many little lit dots on the blue stone tablet, labeled with names like "King’s Cross Station", "Iron Cross Street Station", "Hammer Street Station" and more.

These must be the accessible stations.

Rod recalled Lauren’s horseless carriage; there must be a distinction between public and private transportation here.

No way, do you have to buy a carriage here too?

Rod silently mocked, shifting his gaze to the top of the tablet where two more lines of text were written:

[Please ride safely, do not damage the Spirit Car or items inside, do not evade payment or cheat, and refrain from uncivilized behavior within the carriage. This vehicle is under surveillance, and any violation of the King’s Law will be subjected to strict punishment by the Judgement Court!]

The last four words were enlarged and highlighted in red, displaying their powerful deterrent effect.

Damn...Sure enough, it’s the era of Spiritual Energy electrification; it seems this Spirit Car has also gone through its fair share of twists and turns since its inception.

Humanity really is all the same.

Pushing aside his scattered thoughts, Rod quickly found his destination.

Iron Cross district.

This was where he had been assigned patrol missions as a special student before.

Rod had it all figured out.

If they won’t let me go, I’ll go by myself.

The Defense Chief of the Iron Cross district had a very good impression of him and would certainly not refuse a free worker.

He could join any team, just like last time, and pick up the slack like crazy.

Rod wasn’t planning to hunt monsters on the streets like a fool.

Not to mention the Doomsday Sect that bore a grudge against him, within the Internal Affairs Court were enemies watching him too; wandering the streets alone for a long time would be extremely unsafe.

Teaming up was the best choice.

Originally, Rod intended to find a passerby to go with him to avoid unforeseen dangers on the road, but this Spirit Car looked so advanced that it probably wouldn’t be attacked.

His mind made up, Rod pressed the lit point representing the Iron Cross district.

Bang!

The carriage jolted, pushing him back against the seat.

A steady push-back sensation came, indicating the Spirit Car was now speeding along the main road, racing towards the Iron Cross district.

For some reason, there seemed to be an extraordinary number of people in Royal City today, with Spirit Cars coming and going on the streets, some like his smaller four-wheeled carriage and others like double-decker Floating buses.

Both sides of the roads were lined with people who appeared well-dressed and behaved mannerly; the men mostly wore light-colored robes, with white, yellow, and blue being the most common hues.

The ladies mostly donned long gowns, with beige, red, and gold as the primary colors; some wore large hats while others had veils, and they covered their mouths with a laugh, their elegance very much apparent.

Black seemed to be a color shunned here, with no one donning it except a very few special groups of people.

Rod looked out at the scene passing by his window, his thoughts racing quickly.

From his limited experience leaving the city, the Royal City always appeared deserted, hardly a soul in sight.

Why were there so many people today? Was it some special day?

If that was the case, would there be countless monsters on the streets for him to hunt like last time?

Rod felt a faint worry.

But this was the Inner City District, perhaps the Outer City District would be different.

The Spirit Car was fast and exceptionally nimble, swiftly weaving through the streams of people and other Spirit Cars.

Moments later, Rod arrived beneath the tall walls of the Inner City District, where guards from the academy, one of whom was Beowood seen at the banquet, were stationed at the City Gate, stopping all Spirit Cars to check their papers.

When it was Rod’s turn, he greeted and handed over his pass.

Beowood blinked in surprise, "It’s you." His eyes then filled with immense disdain as he glanced briefly at Rod’s pass before tossing it back.

"Disgusting fellow."

Making way for itself, the Spirit Car swiftly passed by with Rod, who was utterly baffled.

"Have I offended him?"

After pondering for a moment, Rod suddenly remembered what Zales and Anna had said.

"Oh, I get it, he probably thought I was heading to that Red Workshop street."

The name alone hinted that it was likely a place of pleasure, and both of them had assumed he acquired the Hunter’s License to visit such a locale.

Heh heh.

You underestimate me.

How could the vulgar Red Workshop street compare to the nuns at the Church’s Medical Center?

Hehehe.

After laughing for a while, Rod’s thoughts drifted to Aunt Youse.

Yes, I must go to see her when I have the time.

If it weren’t for Aunt Youse, he would not have been able to enter Jinworth Academy and might have died during the first invasion.

Both emotionally and rationally, he felt he should pay her a visit.

Aunt Youse had also offered to help him with his memory loss, though now Rod felt it didn’t matter; he knew everything he needed to know.

Still, it could serve as an excuse for him.

He could claim that Aunt Youse’s healing was successful, that he had fully recovered his memory, and would turn over all the information he knew.

If the Internal Affairs Court could thereby uncover the truth and catch the culprit, perhaps Aunt Youse would even receive an award.

Yes.

Not bad!

That’s a good idea.

As long as he survived the invasion, he would immediately set about doing it.

Rod’s mood improved slightly, and he felt less anxious about the fate that was to come.

Looking out the window, after crossing the high walls to the Outer City District, the scenery underwent a dramatic transformation.

The brightness dimmed at once, the streets became narrow, the crowds congested and noisy, and the flow of filthy water and debris was everywhere to be seen; the houses on both sides were disorderly and old, and the Spirit Car slowed down.

The incessant shouting from the street vendors flooded his ears.

"Top-quality Fuel Element! Top-quality Fuel Element! One portion can keep your Spirit Lamp lit for a whole week!"

"Clam meat freshly delivered from Thousand Lake Town! One silver coin a piece!"

"Hot and fresh mushroom soup! One bowl keeps you alert all day!"

"Sweet vine grass jam! Sweet vine grass jam!"

"New honey from Flower City!"

Various street hawkers shouted loudly, and the air mixed with foul and fresh scents rushed into Rod’s nose, bringing him a sense of life that he hadn’t felt in a long time.

This was the true face of the Royal City’s lowest residents; their robes were mostly simple and worn, their faces wrinkled, their complexions sallow and bodies thin, their hands full of calluses, meticulously counting every silver coin they could exchange for goods.

The Spirit Car moved through the crowd slowly but resolutely.

As it reached a circular plaza, Rod saw a harpist sitting on a fountain, playing melodious music.

Not even the bell tolling from the nearby church was able to cover up his music.

A bunch of scruffy kids surrounded him, running wildly and dancing an unknown dance; their clothes were ragged, their faces smeared with unidentifiable dirt, but the joyful smiles like those of angels could not be hidden.

A few women, dressed in clothes as thick as rags, watched over them affectionately.

The Spirit Car continued past them, steadfastly driving forward.

Suddenly, a little girl ran up to the carriage window and held up a bunch of flowers high.

"Big brother, do you want some flowers? They’re narcissus planted by my mother; she says they’re flowers of love. Big brother can give them to someone he loves, just one silver coin."

"They’re very fresh, just picked, with dew still on the petals!"

"Big brother, would you like them?"

Unable to resist, Rod handed over a silver coin.

The little girl’s voice, filled with surprise, came from outside the window: "Big brother, thank you! I’ll give you the flowers!"

"No."

Rod smiled at the skinny little girl, all skin and bones, through the window.

"I give the flowers to you."

Sophie’s joy +33

Humanity +3

Flower of Humanity +1