CHAPTER 996: CHAPTER 518: BLUEPRINT FOR THE FUTURE (PART 2)

"No problem."

Rod agreed immediately.

"In fact, I have a lot of soul residue. The monsters I defeat often leave a lot of residue when their souls explode."

Horus frowned, but the King didn’t mind his contradictory words and smiled, "Little Rod, look, you’ve lit a beacon of hope for Trolian again."

Rod smiled and said, "It’s not just my achievement. A kingdom can’t stand on the shoulders of just one or two people. The rise and strength of Trolian depends on each of us."

Horus and the King exchanged glances and saw reassurance in each other’s eyes.

The King coughed and continued, "Since the rekindling of the Holy Fire requires constant fueling to increase strength, we are now in extreme shortage of fuel element and firewood."

"The Holy Fire’s element must be made from high-quality Sun Stones, and the fire kindling requires Sun Stones, Sun Crystals, powerful Soul Crystals, and ashes. The large consumption has also led to a scarcity of ritual materials."

"Not only that, due to the mass production of weapons, golems, mechanical bodies, new spiritual power cannons, and for the research on spiritual power technology, materials like Spirit Crystal Ore, Moon Stone, Radiant Stone, Star Light Ruby, and Star Marrow have also started to become scarce."

"The activity of Taboo Armament and Calier’s secret forces further exacerbates this situation."

"It can be said that the resource issue is now urgent."

Rod’s face turned a bit somber as he asked, "What should we do now?"

The King smiled and said, "Little Rod, don’t be too anxious. The first thing we must do is to complete the Source Prophecy. Only by determining the future crisis can we freely develop."

Horus agreed, "Moreover, we can still find many useful resources in the Sagus Ancient City. It’s so remote that it escaped the human purges during the Fire Epoch and is one of the few well-preserved divine cities."

The King continued, "Horror Castle is also important. The significance of Star Source to high-rank combatants is immeasurable. To enhance high-rank combat power in a short period, we can only rely on it."

"The search for the other three Fire King Cities is our most long-term task."

"Finding their existence is invaluable. If they really have survived from the Dark Epoch to now, they will surely have many experiences to share with us."

Rod eagerly said, "King, I want to participate in all three tasks."

The King laughed and said, "Little Rod, I tell you these things because you are the Incognito Fire and Fire Son. You have the right and need to know, but as for who will complete them, you won’t need to. You must focus on guarding Starry Sky City; gathering Star Source is your most important work."

Rod’s heart sank. The clearing of Starry Sky City was nearing its end, with most of the threatening monsters eliminated. The remaining tasks involved excavating and utilizing the ruins.

This was now the domain of people like Professor Bins, historian Barrett, and great scholar Amides. Rod had nothing much to do, spending his days at the Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground in Starry Sky City, monitoring the Star Chart.

Regular monsters were naturally dealt with by warriors and didn’t require his intervention.

It could be said that he had already reaped most of the divinity of Starry Sky City.

Aside from those 8 points of Star Source, there was nothing else.

"King."

Rod tried to find an excuse not to stay at Starry Sky City.

"I can actually advance my spirituality by many days..."

The King rejected him outright.

"It’s not good for young people to take on too much at once; it’s harmful to your health."

Rod scratched his head, not knowing how to demonstrate that he was healthy and could endure all night.

Horus patted Rod’s shoulder.

"Little Rod, I know you’re impatient, but there’s no rush. Fighting for Trolian, you’ll have countless opportunities in the future. Although you’re not participating in those three tasks, you’ll be involved in more important ones later."

Rod grumbled, "Like what?"

Horus replied, "For instance, joining the campaign against the Destruction Temple or undertaking the vital mission to challenge the King of Light. Perhaps you might lead such a team to success. Therefore, take this time to grow rapidly. I can sense that you’re far from reaching your limit, especially with the Ashen Throne; your growth is unquestionable."

"Around Trolian, the King of Night in the Magic Forest, the demons in the Old Abyss, the Corpse Land, the Eternal Sealed Land, the Shaking Land, the Despair Swamp, the Dragon Tomb, and the Giant Tower are all shackles constraining our development. We will break them one by one."

"Little Rod, you have endless opportunities to fight for Trolian, not just now."

Upon hearing Horus’ words, Rod’s heart finally calmed down a little.

The King smiled and said, "Our real threat is the King Level Monsters. They lurk in the deep darkness, and should they invade Trolian territory, it would spell great disaster for us."

"So we’ve always combated them outside of Trolian. If our strength allows, we’ll eliminate them; if not, we’ll just prevent them from getting close. The powerful forces balance each other, which is the foundation of our existence so far."

"This is also the true duty of the Fire Son: to protect Trolian from King Level Monster invasions."

"And our ultimate blueprint is to reach the distant Giant Dragon Great Wall, expanding our territory threefold and securing more mineral resources."

"Little Rod, you’ll have many opportunities to prove yourself in the future, but for now, your main task is to gather Star Source, and your primary mission is to master everything about Trolian, adapting to the responsibilities of the Incognito Fire and Fire Son."

Rod didn’t refute; the King’s words were correct. It was indeed the most reasonable choice.

If one day he could truly influence Trolian’s situation, the burden on his shoulders would be tremendous.

If he lacked this ability, it would bring not only enormous disaster upon himself.

Afterward, Rod met with leaders of various important departments or institutions of Trolian at the Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground, effectively making his identity as Fire Son public.

However, the identity of the Incognito Fire remained undisclosed, a secret duty unknown to all but a few.

During the meeting, Rod further understood Trolian’s structure and operation, finally comprehending how such a massive Royal City functioned.

The leaders of the numerous Royal City institutions were very enthusiastic upon meeting Rod.

The bald-headed master from the Mechanical Research Institute held Rod’s hand and wouldn’t let go, constantly introducing him to the institute’s innovative projects and praising the new knowledge system Rod established, which opened new paths for them.

Now, scholars were eagerly diving into the system, continuously exploring and developing new things.

The representative sent by the Jinwoosi Society turned out to be Mina. As soon as they met, she showered Rod with praise, saying they found a new construct in Starry Sky City, and her 59th Mechanical Body was about to evolve into the 60th.

In the future, she planned to build floating battleships and was convinced this path would save humanity.

Representatives from the Internal Affairs Court, the Judgement Court, and the White Tower also highly praised him.

The bald-headed Commander Liszt from the Investigation Legion initially held some reservations about him, but during the conversation, Rod clearly informed him that the Soul Devouring King’s castle had collapsed, and the Soul Devouring King had disappeared, so they could boldly venture beyond it.

Liszt’s attitude changed dramatically, spilling everything like beans from a bamboo tube.

As for the representatives of the Taboo Armament and Calier, words couldn’t describe their feelings.

Finally, after much hassle, Rod returned once more to Starry Sky City.

But only a few days later, he received a command from the King again.

——Return to the Royal City.