Pushing open the gates of the Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground, a stunning blonde woman walked out.
She arrogantly glanced at Rod and said indifferently, "Who are you? Why don’t you kneel when you see ?"
Cough!
Horus coughed from behind.
The blonde woman glanced at him, snorted coldly, and left with her head held high.
Rod felt a bit strange, but he didn’t care too much.
As he entered the Sacrificial Altar, the king was sitting in his throne, his face pale, looking very tired and weak.
But upon seeing Rod, he managed a smile.
"Little Rod, you’ve co... You must have t Lilith, she’s my lover—don’t mind her, she’s always so arrogant," the king said.
Horus nodded, "And vain."
Rod blinked, seeing the weakened state of the king, he couldn’t help but make an unfortunate association.
Really? I didn’t expect you to be that kind of king. Is it really appropriate to do such things in the Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground?
If I had co earlier, wouldn’t I have witnessed sothing indescribable?
Suddenly, another question occurred to him, and he couldn’t help but ask, "What about the queen? Why haven’t I seen her? Is your harem very large?"
Horus’s expression darkened, and he barked, "Rod, shut your..."
"Calm down, little Horus," the king said with a serene smile.
"My wife died in battle ten years ago. Lilith is my only lover. She has sacrificed a lot and covered up many things for . If she has offended you, please forgive her."
Horus’s face looked gloomy—it was obviously not a matter of pride.
"Little Rod, you are now the King’s Hand. You are fully equipped for the duties required by your office in Star Town. Soon, you shall embark on the mission to expand human territory," the king stated.
Rod couldn’t help but smile; he had been waiting for this day for a long ti.
The king’s expression turned solemn.
"This is a very important mission, and its outco will have a direct impact on the Holy Fire project," he said.
"However, the resistance encountered is much greater than expected."
"The prolonged battles have tired everyone out. The warriors’ desire for rest and recuperation is very strong, and the objectors and corrupt within the Royal City have used this to band together, attempting to overthrow the implentation of new laws to protect their interests."
"Thus, the difficulties you will face are going to be much greater than imagined," the king warned.
Rod couldn’t help but ask, "Why are there such people at a ti when human civilization is on the brink of crisis?"
Horus spoke gravely, "There’s no helping it. Trolian has existed for over 1,300 years, with two great extinctions occurring 900 and 400 years ago, respectively. The Royal City hasn’t directly faced darkness for at least 300 years."
"These people have lain in a relatively easy environnt for too long and gradually degenerated into fat-brained maggots."
"They don’t believe the Royal City will be destroyed—at worst, they will lose so territory, so people will die."
"As long as they hide within the lofty walls of Los, they will not face any danger."
"So, all they worry about is seizing more benefits, achieving higher status, living more opulent lives. Just within the Royal City, there are fifty million people, with at least ten million unregistered, and they can easily harvest the flesh and souls of these to sustain themselves."
This was the first ti Rod had heard about such things.
The Royal City is an incredibly large city, with just the Lower City District covering over a hundred thousand square miles, nearly a tenth of the entire area of the Trolian Kingdom. With an unprecedentedly developed sewer system, the massive Los walls, and the underground rivers purified by the Holy White Tree, it’s not surprising that so many people have gathered here.
What’s surprising is, how do they sustain themselves by "harvesting flesh and souls"?
Seeing Rod’s puzzled look, Horus explained, "Do you know about the Red Crystal?"
Rod nodded, for the Soul Red Crystal is a common replenishing resource.
"Are you aware of active spirituality?" he continued.
Rod nodded again. He knew that by sacrificing human souls, he could obtain this resource to create Wood Puppets.
For a ti, he had a significant shortage, and he bought many from the dicine Woman (phit).
A few silver coins per batch, quite cheap.
Horus continued solemnly, "The reason Soul Red Crystals have restorative effects is that they contain the vitality of life. They crush living flesh with original crystal, mix them together, and through secret techniques, they can produce Red Crystals at a very low cost."
"Fresh souls, on the other hand, can be divided with a Spiritual Energy Splitter, filtering out large amounts of active spirituality."
"They set up flesh mills and buy the poor for 300 silver coins, or even less, turning them into Red Crystals and active spirituality, then reselling them to the black market, profiteering from this illicit trade."
"They even hire the poor to work in the flesh mills, where these people not only work over ten clock hours a day but also get paid a weekly salary of only 20 silver coins, with food and lodging expenses deducted."
"Many go insane in such harsh and bloody environnts, and they even throw the mad into the mills."
A chilling sensation mixed with nauseating disgust surged within Rod, and he angrily asked, "Why keep such people around?"
Horus said gravely, "Many don’t see it that way. They believe it’s a fair trade. Those who can’t survive turn into resources to dedicate themselves to the cause of the Royal City and gain silver coins so their families can live. They see it as a win-win."
Rod exclaid, "Bullshit, this is slaughter. If humanity’s last sanctuary is a cannibalistic one, then what difference does it make from the monsters?"
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