CH 95

"Can I get any help?" Rode asked eagerly.

"Um..."

Lauren wanted to agree, but hesitated.

"Legitimate, reasonable help."

Rode felt a bit disappointed. He had hoped that the royal city would directly provide him with strange items like "living flesh," "puppet wood," and "resurrection stone."

However, based on his research during this period, these things might not be conventional legal materials. It would be better not to mention them.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Can I have a Sunstone?"

Lauren didn't ask him what he wanted the Sunstone for and simply said, "High purity ones are not allowed. They are materials used to make Holy Fire Fuel."

Rode recalled that the recipe for "Soul Ashes" did not require purity, only more than thirteen grams of intact Sunstone.

"Can I have more than thirteen grams?"

"You can. We will apply to the General Logistics Department according to the needs of the mission. How much do you need?"

"I don't need a lot." Rode thought for a moment and said, "Just give me five hundred for now."

From Lauren's expression, Rode guessed that he might have said something extraordinary, so he changed his words, "Four hundred will do."

Lauren covered his forehead and said impatiently, "Fine, I'll apply for twenty first, and then see how it goes."

Although Rode looked young on the outside, he was not an inexperienced child on the inside.

"Let's see" Ninety-nine percent of the time it means "none left, let me appease you first."

He intentionally frowned and elongated his voice, saying, "Is this how you treat warriors who risk their lives to carry out missions? I could have refused. Life in the academy is so beautiful, my classmates are so friendly, our leader Kassan is gentle and virtuous, and she takes good care of me every night, warming my bed. Why should I go out and face those ferocious doomsday cultists?"

Rode emphasized his tone, trying to create a terrifying atmosphere.

"Alright, alright," Lauren interrupted impatiently, "Fifty will be the limit. Logistics will never approve more. Even low purity Sunstones have a wide range of uses, and we generally don't distribute them to individuals."

Rode immediately smiled.

Fifty Sunstones meant fifty "Soul Ashes."

Last time, they couldn't defeat twenty monster souls. If there was another invasion, they should be able to defeat fifty, right?

But now was not the time to be happy yet. Rode held back his smile and continued, "I need other supplies."

"Speak."

"I want Starlight Ruby Powder."

Lauren seemed relieved and took a sip of water. "Sure, how much do you need?"

"Start with a ton."

Pfft.

Lauren sprayed all the water in his mouth.

Rode looked at him innocently with his big eyes.

I'm asking for a sky-high price, you can afford it.

"Fifty grams! There's not even one gram left!"

"At least half a ton!"

Lauren stared at him and said, "Are you going to eat Starlight Ruby Powder with your rice?"

Rode had a thought. This excuse was good.

You said I'm a black hole for food, right? Then I'll show you!

"That's right."

He agreed immediately.

"My Flame Seed requires me to eat more things. Only by eating more things can my Flame Seed become stronger."

Lauren looked at him suspiciously and answered after a moment of silence, "At most one hundred grams. Your Flame Seed has not undergone a characteristic test and does not have the standard answer from the Mechanical Research Institute. Logistics will not approve so many supplies."

Rode's heart blossomed with joy, but he still pretended to have a bitter face and said, "Alright, just one hundred grams then. I'm at a loss."

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Lauren's face turned black. One hundred grams of Starlight Ruby Powder could be sold for thirty thousand silver coins on the market. If it weren't for the fact that this mission was very important and very dangerous, it would never have been approved.

"I also want Radiant Stone."

Lauren stared at him and said, "I suddenly think it's not reasonable to let an outstanding special student carry out such a dangerous mission..."

"Alright, forget about the Radiant Stone. Just reimburse me for the silver bullets and Thunder Stones consumed in this mission."

This request was reasonable, and Lauren agreed.

In the end, the deal was reached with the conditions of fifty Sunstones, one hundred grams of Starlight Ruby Powder, and unlimited reimbursement for silver bullets and Thunder Stones.

Rode smiled so much that his face almost twisted.

Actually, his bottom line was just to have his bullets and Thunder Stones reimbursed. The doomsday cultists had made him suffer so much, and he had wanted to kill them a long time ago.

Especially that black priest.

Don't you like to eat shit? This time, I'll let you eat your fill.

Rode was very confident.

Not only because he had become much stronger, but also because in his research on dreams these days, he had discovered something very important.

The "Long-handled Hook Blade" left by the red spirits after they died was actually a "living dead spirit."

When Rode had the idea to put this weapon on the stone platform one day, the "living dead spirit" in the "Undying Spirit" category suddenly lit up.

At that moment, Rode was stunned.

He had only wanted to see if the stone platform could decompose it, but he didn't expect that this weapon was the material itself.

The "Undying Spirit" only required the Flower of Humanity and the living dead spirit, and there happened to be a Flower of Humanity. With the living dead spirit, all the materials were complete.

Rode immediately took out the Flower of Humanity that had been stored for a long time and placed it on the stone platform.

Sure enough.

The "Undying Spirit" lit up.

With a light touch, the stone platform was enveloped in strong spiritual light, and various tools flew in and out, busy with their work.

It took about an hour for Rode to add Holy Fire Fuel to the stone platform six times before the "Undying Spirit" was completed.

It was a sphere formed by countless souls embracing each other, with a face of intense pain on each soul. The whole sphere looked very eerie and terrifying.

But Rode didn't mind.

Crushing it would make him invincible for thirty seconds.

This was the confidence Rode had to accept this mission.

Although he had considered waiting for the next invasion, after careful consideration, he decided to take the risk.

The benefits of eliminating the doomsday cultists were enormous and would greatly benefit his future development.

As for when the invasion would happen, or if it would happen at all, was uncertain.

Even if it did happen, summoning a multitude of monsters would drown them.

Last time, they lost because the Sunstones were contaminated and the monsters went crazy and couldn't be controlled.

This time, it shouldn't be contaminated, right?

Rode followed Lauren confidently.

They arrived at the Iron Ingot District, the second largest district in the outer city. It was the closest district to the Los High Wall.

Rode saw the outer city wall of the royal city for the first time.

It was made of blue giant stones, rising from the ground and piercing into the dense black mist, like a huge wall separating heaven and earth. It was impossible to see how high it was.

There were long ladders on the city wall, and bronze lamps snaked up the ladders, like a dragon that disappeared into the black mist. The huge city gate was made of pure steel, and the long passage showed the astonishing width of the city wall.

Compared to that, the city wall in the inner city looked like a child's toy.

However, because it was too far from the Holy Fire and too close to the outside of the royal city, the Iron Ingot District had always been the most dangerous district and also the district with the most refugees, illegal residents, and the largest population.

If there were any other options, no one would choose to be here.

But living inside the high wall was always better than living outside the high wall. That was probably their only consolation.

Because of this, the Iron Ingot District was the most active area for the doomsday cultists. They often engaged in various illegal activities here, recruiting believers and disrupting order.

The Political Affairs Hall and the Defense Department of this district were under great pressure, and it was the only place where students were not assigned patrol tasks.

Lauren's plan was for Rode to support this district as a special student and become a temporary guardian of the Iron Ingot District Defense Department.

To avoid leaking the news, everything from the transfer order to the official documents was real. Except for the personnel directly involved in the execution of the case, only the Chief Judge Lucien knew the truth.

Lauren disguised himself as an underground trader covered in a black robe, which was also the biggest characteristic of the Iron Ingot District.

Black market trading.

This kind of illegal merchant was the most common here, and it was endless.

To prevent such transactions from flourishing in the royal city, the Internal Affairs Adjudication did not overly restrict them. People like Lauren, who dressed like this, were common here.

Lauren handed him a whistle and two signal flares, saying, "We have a total of twelve people lurking here, all of them are level seven combatants. This is the highest combat level allowed in the royal city. Those stronger than this level will be seen by the 'Big Eye' on the White Tower. As for me, I am a level six combatant, so you don't have to worry about encountering enemies you can't handle."

"If you encounter an attack, immediately use the signal flare or blow the whistle. Pay attention to activate your spiritual defense. We will arrive in time."

Rode nodded and put away the whistle and signal flares.

Lauren turned and disappeared into the black mist. In this district, the thin black mist was no longer in the sky but pervaded the streets and alleys.

Therefore, spirit lamps were absolutely essential here. Otherwise, the black mist would erode people's souls, corrode warm life, and eventually make people lose their sanity and become cold monsters.

Rode hung a spirit lamp around his waist and carried a red tearstone in his arms that could resist erosion. He walked alone towards the Iron Ingot District Defense Department.

The visibility in the district was very low, and only the outlines of buildings could be seen. Only the lamps outside the houses were clearly visible.

Rode found it hard to imagine what it would be like to live here for a long time. Even the Iron Ingot District Defense Department looked like a haunted house.

Rode handed over his duties here and officially became a temporary guardian.

The Defense Chief of the Iron Ingot District, Gars, was very grateful for his arrival. When he saw him, this burly man almost cried. He had been overwhelmed by the heavy defense duties, and the Political Affairs Hall sent countless tasks and emergency requests every day.

With a severe shortage of manpower, the Defense Department could only choose the most important tasks to handle. The captain of the guardian team was constantly shuttling back and forth in the district, dealing with various dangers and threats.

But every day, residents were still killed in monster attacks, the erosion of the black mist, or the murders committed by the doomsday cultists.

As a man who had engraved the protection of residents into his life, Gars was in extreme anxiety every day. He sent a request for help to the Military War Department and the Royal City Political Affairs Hall almost every day, but they were always ignored.

He didn't expect that there would actually be a response this time.

Although Rode was young, his identity as a special student was enough to dispel most of Gars's doubts. Coupled with his impressive resume, especially the fact that he single-handedly killed thirty-nine doomsday cultists and destroyed a large base, it was blinding. All doubts vanished.

"It's all up to you, Mr. Rode!"

Gars said with tears in his eyes, handing a stack of defense reports to Rode.

"These are all urgent matters of life and death. The Defense Department has no one left. Mr. Gorman went to the East Street, and the Morin team went to support the Blacksmith Square. I have to stay here and can only ask you to go first."

"Everything will be arranged by our staff. Please don't worry about the supply of all logistics materials."

Rode didn't really understand the duties and procedures of a guardian, but he understood hunting monsters. This arrangement was in line with his intentions, so he accepted the reports.

"Alright, leave it to me. Please rest assured."

Gars and dozens of staff members bowed to him at the same time, saying, "Please take care, Mr. Rode."

Rode didn't delay and walked out of the Defense Department directly.

What he had to do was actually very simple: act high-profile and spread the reputation of the new guardian as soon as possible, so that the people of the Iron Ingot District would know that they had a new guardian.

Rode didn't have to worry about encountering troubles he couldn't handle. There were twelve level seven combatants here, so he didn't need to fear any trouble.

Lauren's plan was very detailed.

However, in Rode's mind, things would not be like that at all.

The defense reports indicated the locations and general threats. Most of them were residents being attacked, triggering the call for guardians.

But the Iron Ingot District had a total population of one hundred and ten thousand, not including refugees and illegal residents. Almost every hour, there would be four to five calls for help from the ringing bells.

And the Iron Ingot District Defense Department only had two guardian captains and twenty guardian team members. It was simply impossible for them to handle everything.

Moreover, due to the excessive workload and high consumption of spiritual energy, they could only take turns on duty. Otherwise, if they were injured in danger, it would be even worse.

It was also because of this that the doomsday cultists frequently operated here because they simply couldn't be managed.

Hmph.

But it's different now that I'm here.

Strange light flickered in Rode's eyes. In the eyes of his soul, he saw his prey. They had extinguished the soul lamp of a family and were destroying the crumbling house.

And in his arms, he already had two hundred real silver bullets.

Today, let me shoot to my heart's content!

(=)