The Last King Of Darkness

Since the day humans lit the Holy Fire, the Royal City has been the pillar of their hearts, the source of their faith, and their greatest reliance to survive in this Dark World.

The construction of all order stems from the Royal City; it is the absolute core of the Human Kingdom.

For this reason, the rescue of the Royal City holds a supreme and unparalleled position in the hearts of all humans. It is the fundamental duty of warriors, the most exalted honor of the strong, and the ultimate crown in all dreams.

Undoubtedly, the decision to rescue the Royal City has received unanimous agreement from everyone.

Thus, Evela once more used the ability of "Sanctuary" to temporarily place these over a hundred thousand civilians and seriously injured in a relatively safe location, before conducting a simple reorganization.

Rod took out many Spiritual Power Potions to help them recover Spiritual Energy and heal their wounds.

Horus and several Bishops spared no effort in healing the wounded.

Liszt quickly explored the surrounding environment and found more scattered individuals.

About a clock hour later.

Evela awoke from deep meditation. Although her Spiritual Energy had not returned to peak state, it was much better than before.

Looking around, most of the injured had recovered to a combat-ready state, and those who could not fight were forcibly left behind.

It was evident from their faces they were quite unwilling.

"Everyone."

Evela spoke to the severely wounded with a calm voice:

"I understand your feelings, but pointless sacrifice is meaningless. Surviving is also a contribution to humanity. Stay here, and one day, you can still fight monsters on the battlefield."

Though the severely injured were still somewhat regretful, they understood and said in unison: "May the firelight illuminate everything, may victory walk with you."

Evela solemnly proclaimed: "My body may perish, but the fire will never die!"

The air unconsciously grew heavy. Although the people of Trolian could not understand, they felt the change in the atmosphere.

No one spoke as, under the flickering firelight, the warriors rose one by one, setting out towards the Saint Rel Royal City.

The civilians and wounded left behind cast their blessings through their gazes.

In the departing team were Saintess Yifula, Church Knight Vier, White Priest Lance, Great Shepherd Bossivale, and 206 warriors.

Adding in Qingyu, Rod, Jelaba, Peibela, Red Queen, Horus, Liszt, and 35 high-rank combatants from Trolian, they formed the entire force.

For the Royal City, this should also be a force not to be underestimated.

If the internal struggle of the Royal City is as fierce as anticipated, their arrival will surely tip the scales of victory significantly in humanity's favor.

Rod was continuously inventorying his stock and calculating his trump cards.

Undoubtedly, this would be the most crucial battle of his journey to Saint Reel; he had to stake everything on it.

Those long-stored items were finally at their moment of use.

The 63 remnants of Divinity were his greatest trump card.

Rod felt both excited and worried, uncertain of what kind of future they would face.

The others in the group felt the same as Rod.

Driven by such emotions, everyone burst forth with twice their usual speed.

Evela even used the characteristic "Great Feather Wind" to summon gales that surrounded everyone, masking their forms and movements, encouraging them to push their speed to the limit.

Soon, they entered the heartland of Saint Reel.

Along the way, they saw only fallen towns, human settlements overrun by Black Fog, and countless Living Corpses.

At the foot of the Royal City, such was the sight, and everyone's hearts sank.

This indicated that the crisis the Royal City faced might be more severe than imagined, perhaps to the extent of being unable to attend to the surrounding areas.

Everyone quickened their pace once more.

Horus, throughout the journey, carried the Blood Lantern, constantly watching for signs of life nearby.

But unfortunately, the blood-red arrow created by the Blood Lantern never formed once.

This deepened the shadow cast over everyone's hearts.

Evela stated: "Even if the chasm of the Abyss opened at the very center of the Royal City and the Ancient God descended from within, surely someone would have escaped the Royal City; it's impossible not to encounter a single person!"

Lance, while guzzling Rod's Spiritual Power Potions, said: "If we run into even one person, we'll know what's happening in the Royal City!"

Vier was also chugging Spiritual Power Potions; their Spiritual Energy was nearly replenished:

"Lance is right; the Pope may very well be confronting the Ancient God. If we recklessly charge in, we could potentially interfere with His Holiness's battle."

Rod translated their words, and Qingyu, Horus, and the others all expressed their agreement.

"Yes, such high-level combat is beyond our participation."

Horus recalled: "I remember the King once saying he encountered an exceedingly powerful being in the Spirit Realm. He focused all his mind to confront it, and during those seven days, he could perceive nothing else, only the existence of that Dark Monster. The ultimate outcome was that he drove the creature away. The King said it was the closest he ever felt to annihilation."

Qingyu nodded slightly: "I remember this matter as well. The King of Saint Reel may have encountered a predicament akin to our King's."

Jelaba asked: "Brother Rod, can that Soul attack of yours kill the Ancient God?"

Rod scratched his head: "I don't know... I've never unleashed it on an Ancient God before, but if the Soul Strength gap is too large, even if I hit, it wouldn't succeed, and it might even provoke backlash."