CH 25

Eastern continent.

The Dead Ash Mountain Range.

Thalorian Royal City, Upper City District.

The Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground.

The king looked up at the blazing Holy Fire in front of him.

The golden and fierce flames were so huge that they almost occupied half of the sacrificial ground. People standing in front of it were so small that they couldn't even count as dust.

The rolling flames obscured all sight, as if the entire universe should burn like this, filled with fire and light.

But the reality was quite the opposite. Cold, darkness, desolation, and death were the eternal themes.

And these little episodes of life were brought about by the miracle in front of him.

No matter how many times he looked up, the king was still shocked by its wonder and greatness.

The existence of the Holy Fire was the foundation of Thalorian Royal City, the reason for the existence of Thalorian Kingdom, and the belief that these tens of millions of people could survive.

But it was about to go out.

It can be hard to make great work when its stolen from "pawread dot com".

This was something only the king could perceive.

The power of the Holy Fire was irreversibly weakening, and its source was draining away, just like it had been for the past three years.

The king reached out and gently touched the Holy Fire.

It surged and surged, showing no signs of going out.

But this was only superficial. If spirituality was not injected, even if more fuel and firewood were added, black mist would gradually erode the city and turn all living creatures into undead.

When the Royal City fell into darkness, all the towns, fortresses, and everything that existed because of it outside the city would be extinguished like flying sparks.

On this land, there would be no discordant noise anymore, and silence would become its eternal theme for billions of years.

And the only way to save it was one method, one possibility, one hope.

I will definitely succeed.

The king clenched his hand, and the flame flowed gently through his fingers, touching his skin like an old friend, brother, or senior.

"Your Majesty, everyone is already here," the white-robed Archbishop Horus said respectfully.

"The Council is only waiting for your arrival."

The king was awakened from his contemplation and turned around, smiling. "Let's go, Little Horo."

Little Horo, who was already in his forties and looked like a dry old tree, twitched his mouth, but wisely did not refute the king's eccentricity, and silently followed behind the king, walking out of the Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground.

The outside of the Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground was filled with Thalorian's most elite fire guardians and strongest fire priests, who formed an unshakable line of defense, guarding the safety of the Holy Fire.

Even the appearance of the king and the archbishop did not make them move their gaze for half a second.To protect the Holy Fire, they have given up everything. Their lives are now only devoted to guarding this one duty. The Holy Fire is their light of life, their soul's fire, their everything.

Whenever he sees these lovely warriors, the king feels warm from the bottom of his heart.

He is also determined to give them the happiness they deserve.

The king said loudly, "My spirit is in the sacrificial field. Go back and rest, and come back at night."

The fire guardians and fire priests looked a little confused.

But this was not the first time. They all bowed to the king and walked out of the area.

The king said, "Remember to bring gifts and blessings to your wives and children. Only with love in your hearts can the Holy Fire burn forever."

It wasn't until everyone had left that Horus muttered dissatisfiedly, "King, the guardians of the Holy Fire do not need thoughts. This is to ensure their absolute loyalty and to completely cut off the infiltration of the doomsday cult."

The king smiled, "Little Horus, you are wrong. I am the one closest to the Holy Fire. Shouldn't I be the puppet? Otherwise, how can you guarantee that I will not be infected with the doomsday thoughts?"

Horus choked up, "But, but, but this is not in compliance with the rules."

The king smiled, "I am the king, and my rules are the rules."

Horus could no longer speak.

The two walked towards the east of the Holy Fire sacrificial field.

The center of the upper city is the king's area, and the center of the king's area is naturally the Holy Fire sacrificial field.

And in the four directions of the Holy Fire sacrificial field, there are the four most important institutions in the royal city.

They are:

The Royal City Council, representing the highest power center, occupies the position of the east.

The Royal City Administration, representing the highest administration, occupies the position of the west.

The Holy Church, representing the highest education, occupies the position of the south.

And the highest military war department, which manages all military wars, occupies the position of the north.

This meeting is related to war, but due to its high importance and complexity, it has been moved to the council for discussion.

The king walked into the central hall of the council and immediately saw the seven Sons of Fire sitting in the front row.

They are the strongest in the royal city, the highest combat power that humans can deploy, second only to the king, and have the greatest power except for the king.

On the side of the Sons of Fire are the four knights, who also have extraordinary strength and status.

These eleven people are the eleven pillars that support the royal city, the hope and belief of millions of people, and the role models and ultimate dreams of all fire bearers.Behind them were the leaders of the major legions, the archbishop of the Holy Church, and the guardians of the various defense zones.

They were also the pillars of the Thalorian Kingdom, supporting the giant pillars that held up the sky.

Following them were the leaders of the major institutions, the governors of the administrative districts, and the elders of the council.

They were responsible for maintaining and repairing the giant pillars.

The tens of thousands of combat personnel, millions of workers, and tens of millions of hardworking people who could not be seen here were the foundation of the Thalorian Kingdom's existence.

The king walked up to the central seat.

In an instant, everyone stood up and saluted.

"Welcome the arrival of the king, may fire be with the king."

The king raised his right hand and clenched his fist.

"The darkness will eventually dissipate, and dawn will come!"

"The darkness will eventually dissipate, and dawn will come!"

The neat voices echoed in the central hall. This feeling of unity was his favorite and his only expectation for any meeting.

Sure enough, as soon as he sat down, conflicts and disputes erupted.

The legion commander of the city defense army, Cross, along with dozens of elders and governors, stood up and said:

"The Black Tide is approaching, and we believe that the city should immediately stop expanding outward, reduce the casualties of combat personnel, and alleviate the pressure on defense."

"Our defense line is stretched too thin, and logistical supplies and medical supplies cannot keep up. In the past month, our casualties have exceeded the past ten months!"

"I think we should give up the Star City. It's too far away, outside our defense circle, and its defense has already consumed a third of our strength!"

"This is really unwise!"

But the legion commander of the expedition army, Lohart, and another group of elders and governors expressed their opposition.

"Star City is the most important ancient relic we have discovered in the past twenty years. We have found a huge amount of material resources and spiritual materials in it, as well as a large number of third era relics. The Institute of Machinery Research has found many useful tools from it, and further exploration may bring us more unexpected things."

Cross was a huge fat man. When he was angry, his body swelled up like a balloon:

"A pile of junk toys, some useless materials, and you want our soldiers to die for it?"

The legion commander of the expedition army, Lohart, was a standard muscular man with scars all over his face. One eye was blind, leaving only a big black hole.

He said coldly: "When it comes to sacrifice, no one can speak in front of the expedition army. Do you think it's just an ordinary relic? A pile of historical dust?"He turned around and shouted with a louder voice, "No! The Star City has the highest quality Sunstone mines, perfect Soul Crystal mines, and the highest quality True Silver mines. Are those cold materials? No, they are the fuel of the Holy Fire, the life and strength of warriors, and the warm light!"

Logistics manager Harvey added, "We urgently need Sunstone mines, and the Holy Fire fuel must use Sunstone. Our inventory is running low."

This statement played a decisive role.

Cros's tone calmed down slightly, "Then shrink the defense line, retreat to the position twelve years ago, and abandon Mushroom City, Mountain City, and Beast City."

This suggestion was agreed upon by most governors and elders.

However, some guardians and governors of these three cities expressed their opposition.

"Mushroom City and Beast City produce one-third of our food, as well as many material resources. Mountain City is our largest iron-copper mining base. If we abandon it, many people's lives will be in trouble, and there won't be enough food!"

Talynas, one of the three chief governors, said impatiently, "What's the point of talking so much? The commoners who failed to become Flamekeepers are worthless. Let them die."

The atmosphere in the hall cooled down a bit, and many people cast disgusted looks at him, but Talynas didn't care. He said loudly, "I have always believed that we must do whatever it takes to survive. The Black Mist will not stop corroding because of our mercy, and the monsters will not show us any mercy because of our kindness. We must be more severe and ruthless than them to truly defeat this world and win a place to survive."

Manolobana, one of the four High Judges with an iron mask, also stood up and said, "I'll speak fairly. Lord Talynas's words are not pleasant, but they make sense. Kindness and mercy cannot defeat the enemy. A harsh world should have harsh survival rules. The commoners are pitiful, but people without value should not waste resources. The protection we provide has a price."

"Nonsense!"

Golden-haired Mibor almost jumped up.

"No warrior will fight with such beliefs! If home is no longer home, why should they sacrifice their lives?"

Manolobana, wearing an iron mask, sneered, "So, you can drown in your kindness!"

"If the end of this path is death, then I would rather die!"

"Heh, if you want to die, go ahead and die. Don't drag everyone down with you."

As before, the hall fell into endless arguments.Only the seven sons of fire and the four knight commanders sat still, not joining the quarrel. Their status was beyond dispute, and they only followed the king's orders, without expressing their opinions.

The king stroked his chin and looked at the map of Thalorian Kingdom in front of him, lost in thought.

Thalorian Kingdom was actually just a customary name, and its main component was Thalorian Royal City.

When the human hero Thalorian placed the Holy Fire in this city built by giants, the City of Thalorian, the City of the Fire King, was established.

It is located halfway up the Dead Ash Mountains. Initially, only the upper city area existed, and the lower city area was expanded in countless years to come.

As humans prospered, Thalorian began to lack food and supplies. They had to leave the protection of the high walls and the Holy Fire and venture out to develop new cities and strongholds.

This was also the source of many towns in Thalorian.

To protect their safety, people had to build more castles and fortresses, forming a line of defense that eventually became today's defensive circle.

Over the long years, the human territory has undergone many changes, but no matter what, humans have never left the Red Soil Plain.

This is because the terrain of the Red Soil Plain is excellent. Its north and east are blocked by the Dead Ash Mountains. By setting up defenses on the west and south, they can resist the roaming monsters in the Black Mist and have a relatively safe environment.

Then purify the land, clean the water sources, and sow the seeds of the Holy White Tree. Soon, they had output.

By setting up defense zones, establishing patrol teams, forming combat groups and battle clusters, and eliminating threats that slipped through the defensive network, they could basically ensure the production and transportation of supplies.

This land of less than six hundred miles in radius is the entirety of Thalorian Kingdom.

If they want to expand further outward, with the turning of the eastern mountains, they would go from defending two sides to defending three sides, and the pressure of defense would sharply increase. The contact with the Black Mist would expand, and it might even alarm the indescribable existence deep in the Black Mist, increasing the danger exponentially.

However, if they do not expand, the existing resources are not enough to meet people's needs.

Since his ascension to the throne, Thalorian has expanded to the limit, controlling an area larger than the past hundred years.

But it still cannot satisfy the skyrocketing population.

The most critical issue is that in order to ensure the survival of the outer city area, the Holy Fire has been running at the highest intensity, requiring three times more fuel than in a stable state.

This naturally sparked disputes and dissatisfaction. Within the Royal City, there were roughly two factions, one in favor of expansion and the other in favor of contraction.There are also many subtle differences between the two factions, such as Talynas and Manolobana advocating for the iron faction that creates a harsh environment, and there are also moderate factions like Mibole.

Although there are many cracks, they can all be compensated as long as victory is achieved.

The king stood up, intending to end their argument.

He said, "I remember when I was a child, there was a shortage of supplies, and there was very little food, especially the white and green sugar cubes that children love to eat."

The hall quieted down, and everyone listened quietly to the king's speech.

The king smiled a little, as if reminiscing, and seemed to like the atmosphere without argument.

"But every child only had one piece, and parents often liked to put their hands behind their backs and ask us if we wanted the left or right one."

The white-robed Archbishop Horus shouted, "I understand! The king means that we have to make a choice, either shrink the defense circle or give up the Star City."

Cross shouted, "Shrink the defense circle!"

Lohart said, "Give up the Star City."

Manolobana said, "To be honest, let's give up both..."

"No."

The king smiled.

"My point is that only children make choices, and adults should all do it."

As soon as he finished speaking, the hall fell silent.

Suddenly, Lohart shouted, "King! We don't have enough personnel!"

The city defense army corps commander Cross also shouted, "Our defense area is too large! Once the Dark Tide comes, we will suffer heavy losses!"

The king said lightly, "The defense force of the royal city can support going out and can share a lot of pressure."

Horus refused decisively, "Then what about the royal city?"

The king smiled, "I am in the royal city, don't you trust me?"

Everyone looked at each other, and a governor stuttered, "But, Your Majesty, you can guard the Holy Fire, but you can't patrol the entire royal city. Roaming monsters will greatly disrupt our order."

The king smiled slightly, "Did you forget that we have a strong reserve force?"

Several corps commanders pricked up their ears in an instant, "What?"

"Kimberly's students."

The king smiled and revealed the answer.

"Our reserve combat personnel."