CHAPTER 1243: CHAPTER 624: PROTECTING WHITE KING SAFFEK

The gains from this journey to the Saint Rel Kingdom may well exceed imagination.

However, now is not the time to delve into secrets.

From the mouths of Vier and Lance, Rod learned that the Protecting White King Saffek seemed like a legendary figure akin to Alan.

He is a formidable monarch-level warrior, wielding a true divine artifact, and with such strong defenses, Sword City should not fall like the Hera Fortress.

But from their words, it seems that the Saint Rel Kingdom has no shortage of monarch-level combat power.

If all the Protecting White Kings are on the same level, doesn’t that mean, apart from the Pope, they have as many as thirteen monarch-level warriors?

One should know, in Trolian, besides the King, it was only recently that there was just one.

Counting Alan, there would only be, at most, one and a half, given Alan’s special circumstances, it is hard to determine if he has entered the monarch level.

It appears that Saint Rel has developed far more smoothly than Trolian, and it may well become a powerful ally for Trolian.

Rod thought.

If I can find a way to solve a disaster that even monarch-level combat power cannot, would I not acquire much divinity?

Musing to himself, Rod relayed what they had said to the people of Trolian.

Everyone drew in a sharp breath.

Although they had roughly expected Saint Rel to be stronger than Trolian, they hadn’t expected this much strength.

Horus looked delighted: "Excellent! They can certainly help us complete our expansion and establish the defense mode of the Eternal Sanctuary at the fastest speed."

Peibela sighed: "It turns out humans can reach such heights; we’ve experienced too many setbacks, which severely slowed our growth."

The expressions on everyone’s faces varied, but joy predominated.

After all, having a powerful ally is always worth celebrating.

Especially since Trolian is currently undergoing a phase of rapid development.

Having a strong ally can quickly boost their growth rate.

Only Professor Bins and Professor Barrett were more interested in the history of Saint Rel, urging Rod to inquire further.

While learning from history can yield much, Rod is now more concerned with the issue of divinity.

He had already made up his mind, as long as "Lord Saffek’s" combat power was strong enough, he would use his remaining 41 points of divinity, all on the [Spirit Tide], to assist them.

Perhaps the divinity acquired this way would be even greater.

Unconsciously, the 500-kilometer journey passed quickly, and a broad avenue appeared on the ground. Neatly arranged slabs were embedded in the wasteland, giving this primitive area a hint of human presence.

The avenue was about a hundred yards wide, at least wide enough for twenty carriages to travel side by side, and everywhere on both sides were the symbols of Sword City and the emblems of the White Sect.

The breath of humanity rushed forward.

Vier exclaimed excitedly: "We’ve arrived!"

Everyone quickened their pace, and after circumventing a large mountain, the northern major city of Saint Rel finally came into view.

It was an incredibly vast giant city, with colossal city walls and numerous tall towers, exuding an overwhelming imposing aura.

However, all these creations, which had crystallized human effort, were shrouded in rolling black fog. The entire giant city was devoid of any firelight, the pervasive black fog swallowed everything, and the silhouettes of giant monsters, larger than the towers, were faintly visible in the darkness, with desolate howls and roars faintly audible from afar.

Everyone stood frozen, as if petrified.

A few seconds later, Vier let out a wail: "Impossible, how could Sword City fall?"

Lance clutched his head as if it were about to explode: "No, no, no, how could our Fire of Life be extinguished? Where is Lord Saffek? Where is the Dome Divine Sword? What monster could conquer Sword City?"

Rod was the first to regain his composure because the Eye of the Soul could see within the city.

For the first time, he saw a creature with a spiritual power wave like a broken line.

That terrifying spiritual energy was the most he had ever seen, a warped mass like a black sun that distorted the surrounding space curve.

He couldn’t be sure if this Dark Soul contained a Strong Source, the distance was too great.

Even if not a king-level monster, it’s not something they can easily kill.

Moreover, there was not just one such monster; the entire Sword City had become a ghost domain where monsters roamed.

"Retreat quickly!"

Rod urged urgently.

"This is not a place to linger."

Horus and Liszt quickly came to their senses: "Let’s get out of here quickly!"

Rod dragged the still-stunned Lance and Vier along, retreating swiftly with the others.

Only when they had run a considerable distance did they stop.

The oppressive silence bore down on everyone’s eardrums.

In the dim firelight, each person remained silent, not speaking for a moment.

Soon, everyone’s gaze focused on Vier and Lance.

Yet they still couldn’t accept the fall of Saint Rel’s northern gateway.

"This is impossible, this is impossible... why? Where has Lord Saffek gone? I don’t believe it; Lord Saffek couldn’t possibly fail!"

"What about the North, what about the North... so many people, so many strongholds, Lord Saffek... Right!"

Suddenly, Vier clapped her hands, a glimmer of light shining in her pale green eyes.

"Lord Saffek’s soul is special, he is the Protecting White King of the North, guarding the entire region. To ensure he can be found at any moment, he separated some material from his soul and crafted it into the Spiritual Guidance. These soul artifacts constantly point to his location."

She quickly rifled through her bag and soon produced a delicate white compass.

Engraved on the compass was a relief of an imposing man, large and solid in stature, with a head of gray hair, cloaked in a white cape, with three upright long swords at his chest, holding an oddly shaped Giant Sword in his upper right hand, and below was an inscription.

[The belief in bravery and victory often makes battles end at a faster pace]

On the relief, a white needle pointed southward.

Vier and Lance’s faces burst with radiance.

"The compass for Spiritual Guidance is working, Lord Saffek is still alive, he is to the south, within the kingdom!"

"Maybe they retreated, abandoned this place!"

"Yes, it must be so! His Holiness the Pope might have foreseen some disaster! Orders were given in advance!"

"All the issues we’ve faced may have been triggered by this."

Vier turned her head, beseechingly, "Lord Rod, let’s go find Lord Saffek! Once we find him, everything will become clear."

Rod nodded, relaying all the information to Horus and the others.

Unexpectedly, almost everyone agreed to search for Saint Rel’s Protecting White King Saffek.

Horus said: "This should be the quickest way to clarify the situation."

Qingyu looked grave, the series of anomalies encountered upon arriving at Saint Rel made her cautious:

"If we can’t find him, we’ll head straight to Saint Rel’s Royal City."

Rod nodded, this was indeed the best choice.

Though not stated explicitly, now it seems, Saint Rel might be experiencing what Trolian endured over a year ago with the black tide.

At this moment, Saint Rel definitely lacks combat power.

Their arrival could greatly assist Saint Rel Royal City.

Thus, the group set out again.

They skirted around Sword City from another direction into Saint Rel.

Along the way, they passed several human outposts, all inevitably shrouded in black fog, absent of any firelight.

Everyone had anticipated this, given the core outpost’s fall, the dependencies couldn’t survive, so they didn’t pay too much heed, nor did they investigate, just following the direction of Spiritual Guidance.

It wasn’t long before Rod finally saw a lighthouse.

Thankfully, it wasn’t engulfed in black fog; the lighthouse emitted a faint glow, yet still gleaming.

At this moment, the Spiritual Guidance suddenly began to tremble violently.

Vier was stunned, then joy broke across her face: "Lord Saffek is here!"

Lance shouted: "Stone Mountain Lighthouse! Lord Saffek must be in the Stone Mountain Lighthouse!"

In their overwhelming joy, Vier and Lance raced to the lighthouse, bursting open the door.

"Lord Saffek!"

Rod closely followed, and upon entering, he immediately saw a tall figure identical to the relief.

He raised his right hand, a strange Giant Sword impaled a human body, blood dripping from the blade.

The body still trembled, evidently newly slain.

Upon hearing sounds behind him, he turned his head, revealing a decayed face, blackened eyes, and condensed black fog swirling around his body.

Snap!

With a flick of his left hand, the weak firelight in the lighthouse’s fireplace was instantly extinguished.