CH 224

Pushing open the gate of the Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground, a beautiful golden-haired woman walked out to meet them.

She arrogantly glanced at Rode and said coldly, "Who are you? Why didn't you kneel when you saw me?"

Cough!

Horus coughed behind them.

The golden-haired woman glanced at him, snorted coldly, and left with her head held high.

Rode felt a little strange, but didn't pay too much attention to it.

Entering the sacrificial ground, the king was sitting on his throne, looking pale, exhausted, and weak.

But when he saw Rode, he smiled again.

"Little Rode, you're here... You must have met Lilith, she's my lover, don't mind her, she's always so arrogant."

Horus nodded, "And vain."

Rode blinked and, seeing the king's weakness, couldn't help but have a bad idea.

No way? I didn't expect you to be this kind of king. Is it appropriate for you to do this in the Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground?

If I had come a little earlier, wouldn't I have seen an indescribable scene?

Suddenly, another question came to mind, and he couldn't help but ask, "What about the queen? Why haven't I seen her? Is your harem very large?"

Horus's face darkened and he snapped, "Rode, you..."

"Don't get excited, little Horus."

The king showed a calm smile and said softly.

"My wife died in battle ten years ago. Lilith is my only lover. She has sacrificed a lot for me and covered up a lot of things. If she has offended you, please forgive her."

Horus's face looked gloomy, obviously not a glorious matter.

"Little Rode, you are now the hand of the king. All the necessary duties for taking office in Fuxing Town are ready. You should go and carry out the task of expanding human territory immediately."

Rode couldn't help but smile. He had been waiting for this day for a long time.

The king's expression became serious.

"This is a very important task, and its outcome will directly affect the Holy Fire Plan."

"However, the resistance to the plan is much greater than expected."

"The long-term battle has exhausted everyone, and the warriors are very eager to recuperate. The opponents and parasites in the royal city have united to try to overthrow the implementation of the new laws to protect their interests."

"Therefore, the difficulties you will encounter will be much greater than you imagine."

Rode couldn't help but ask, "At such a critical moment for humanity's survival, why are there still people like this?"

Horus said in a deep voice, "This is unavoidable. Thalorian has existed for more than 1300 years. Two major extinctions occurred 900 and 400 years ago, and the royal city has not faced darkness directly for at least 300 years."

"These people have been lying in a relatively comfortable environment for too long, gradually degenerating into fat maggots."

"They don't think the royal city will be destroyed, at most they will lose some territory and some people will die."

"As long as they hide behind the Los walls, there will be no danger at all."

"So, what they think about is how to seize more benefits, gain higher status, and live a more luxurious life. There are fifty million people gathered in the royal city alone, with at least ten million living in poverty, and they can completely extract their flesh and soul to nourish themselves."

This was the first time Rode had heard of such a thing.

The royal city was an incredibly huge city, with the area of just the lower city alone exceeding ten thousand square kilometers, accounting for one-fifth of the entire Thalorian Kingdom. It had an unprecedentedly developed sewer system, huge Los walls, and an underground river purified by the Holy White Tree, so it was not surprising that it could gather so many people.

What was strange was how they could nourish themselves by extracting flesh and soul?

Seeing Rode's puzzled look, Horus explained, "Do you know about the Red Crystal?"

Rode nodded. The soul red crystal was a common restorative material.

"Do you know about the living spirit?"

Rode nodded. He could obtain this material by sacrificing human souls, which could be used to make wooden puppets. For a while, he was very short of it and bought a lot from the Medicine Witch (Mephisto).

It was very cheap, just a few silver coins per piece.

Horus said in a deep voice, "The reason why the soul red crystal has a restorative effect is that it contains the vitality of life. They crush the flesh and original crystal of living people together, and then, through secret methods, they can produce the red crystal at a very low price."

"And fresh souls can be separated by the spirit energy splitter, filtering out a large amount of living spirits."

"They set up flesh and soul mills, buying poor people for 300 silver coins, or even lower, and turning them into red crystals and living spirits, then selling them to the black market at a huge profit."

"They even hire poor people to work in the flesh and soul mills. These people not only have to work for more than ten hours a day, but also have a weekly salary of only 20 silver coins, and they have to deduct food and accommodation expenses."

"Many people go crazy in such a harsh and bloody environment, and they throw the crazy people into the mill."A strong chill mixed with a nauseating feeling surged into Rode's heart, and he angrily asked, "Why keep people like this?"

Horus said in a deep voice, "Many people don't think so. They believe it's a fair trade, that those who can't survive offer themselves as resources for the city and in return, their families receive silver threads to keep them alive. They see it as a win-win situation."

Rode retorted, "Nonsense. This is slaughter. If humanity's last refuge is a cannibalistic one, then what's the difference between us and monsters?"

The king smiled, "There is a difference. Monsters eat without hesitation, but we must cook carefully, dress appropriately, display elegant manners, and pray for the deceased before the meal to show our compassion and kindness."

His smile carried a cold and intense killing intent.

"Little Rode, you may be disappointed. Green Feather will not inherit my throne. My next successor will be Jon."

Horus uneasily interjected, "Your Majesty, how can you tell him that?"

The king laughed, "Why can't I? Little Rode is just like us. He won't tell anyone. Jon will still be the hope of the maggots. They gather under his banner, unaware that they have been exposed."

"When he takes office, none of these people can escape, and they will also establish a strong reputation for him."

Many things in Rode's heart suddenly became clear, but he couldn't accept it. He asked in a low voice, "Why not kill them now?"

Horus replied, "As long as the king's candidate is not confirmed, they must work hard for us. The rules and principles set by the king cannot be easily violated."

"Of course, the matter of the flesh and blood mill is beyond our tolerance, and the king has ordered it to be abolished."

"Because of this, the Holy Fire Plan has faced stronger opposition. They believe that expansion has affected their interests."

After a moment of silence, Rode asked, "Why not make the Holy Fire Plan public? No one wants to see the Holy Fire extinguished except for the Doomsday Cultists, right?"

Horus frowned, "Rode, don't inquire about things you shouldn't. You are not an official member of the Holy Fire Plan yet."

The king shook his head, "Little Horus, you should let go of your guard."

"But, Your Majesty..."

"It's okay, we can tell him about the Holy Fire Plan."

The king turned his head, and golden flames burned in his pupils.

"Little Rode, do you know what the Source is?"

Rode shook his head.

He had heard many times that the stars needed a soul with the "Source" to ignite, but he didn't know the specifics.

"The Source is the fundamental law of the Source of Origin, the fundamental rule of all things. The world is born and continues because of it."

"It is derived from the initial chaos of the Source of Origin, with the lighter parts forming the Source Law and sinking into the depths of the world to form the rules, and the heavier parts forming the Source Material, scattered all over the world."

Rode's heart trembled.

The king actually knew about these things.

But he seemed to be unaware that these were used for the quantification of the Dark Devourer, and he had never asked about it.

"The Void Ocean formed by the Source Law is the Sea of Source."

"It is a concept that pervades the space. Whenever a soul is formed, it will obtain a part of its projection."

"This is the characteristic."

"However, some people obtain a more complete law and become the Fire Sequence, possessing corresponding soul characteristics."

"Some people obtain a broken and mixed law and become the Star Sequence, possessing a spark."

"Therefore, every spark is a broken characteristic."

"And some souls are too fragile to activate the law, and they are ordinary people."

The king paused for a moment and continued.

"Please note that what we obtain is a projection, a trajectory formed by the soul according to the law, not the law itself."

"However, through continuous effort, we can bring this projection closer to its origin."

"This is the level of soul characteristics."

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"The Mechanical Research Institute uses the image of fireworks to represent it. With each firework you possess, you are one step closer to your Source Law. When you have nine fireworks, which is the ninth level, you are infinitely close to your origin."

"This is the limit for ordinary people."

"If you break through to the tenth level, the projection will overlap with the origin, and quantification will begin."

"When it is completed, you will have this Source Law and control a part of the world's rules."

The king's words were like a thunderclap, instantly dispelling the deepest fog in Rode's mind.

So, this is "quantification"!

The stars are my characteristics, and leveling up means getting closer to the origin. "Quantification" means replacing the origin and controlling the world's rules!

No wonder, no wonder!

In an instant, Rode understood many things."But unfortunately, the only one who has completed this feat so far is Theodore."

"With his departure, we have permanently lost this power."

Rode urgently asked, "What about the Starfire Sequence? Can it achieve quantification?"

The king shook his head slightly.

"Currently, only the Spiritfire can achieve this."

"Starfire can only awaken more laws within the soul through various means, igniting more sparks."

Horus also said, "The combatants of the Starfire Sequence are mostly focused on physical combat, relying very little on their characteristics, because the characteristics of their sparks are complex and weak, far inferior to the Spiritfire. But you are the exception, your spark's characteristics are unbelievably strong, and they are almost on par with the characteristics of the soul, which makes me very uneasy."

Rode was stunned, "Why?"

Horus said, "Generally speaking, a soul can only have one characteristic, and people with two soul characteristics are very rare. Their souls are also very unstable and extremely prone to losing control. Once the soul loses control, the spiritual power will backlash, the soul will become corrupted, and ultimately lead to madness, becoming either a lunatic or a monster, with very few exceptions."

Rode couldn't help but ask, "What about three characteristics?"

Horus's face darkened.

"In history, those who have had three soul characteristics have all fallen into darkness and become terrifying Dark Kings."

Suddenly, he looked suspicious.

"Do you know Mephisto? Did she tell you something?"

Rode hesitated for a moment, then said, "She told me that you all think she is the child of destruction as prophesied, but I don't quite believe it. I have already made an agreement, and she will be my first companion on this expedition."

Horus's stern face cracked like dry wood.

"What did you say?"

He roared, spitting in Rode's face.

"I absolutely forbid it! How can you two most unstable factors be together? The most dangerous taboo in the Silver Oath is not allowed to leave my sight..."

The king pacified, "Don't get excited, little Horus, why don't we dance a little?"

Horus turned his head, roaring in the same tone, "Theodore! Act more like a king, you bastard!"

The king coughed and sat up straight.

The royal robe of flames flew from the sacred fire and draped over him, making him look much more dignified.

"After quantification is completed, you will have a 'Source.'"

"Note that the volume of Source Laws is limited. Once the corresponding Source Laws are all occupied, the final quantification cannot be carried out."

Rode asked, "What about the monsters?"

"Except for the corrupted and fallen creatures, all other monsters are born from contaminated Source Laws."

Horus said, "According to different Source Laws, they are divided into five categories: demons, spirits, progenitors, cursed, and aberrations, in addition to the fallen, the corrupted, and the corpse demons born from the corruption of corpses, a total of eight categories."

"Monsters are different from humans. They cannot enhance their characteristics, and therefore cannot obtain Source."

"Other than what they carry within themselves, they can only rely on devouring other souls or Source material to obtain it."

Horus's expression became serious.

"Rode, you must be careful. Any monster with Source is extremely dangerous, and the more they have, the more dangerous they are."

Rode nodded gently.

Powerful monsters are in a completely different league from the previous levels of Gray, Unranked, Mature, and Savage.

The Abyssal Serpent and the Corrupted Dragon are both powerful monsters.

"Considering your lack of experience, I have assigned Molly to be your assistant."

"She is the most outstanding logistics officer in the Military War Department and can help you with many things."

"Not only that, Molly also has a very firm faith and is willing to sacrifice everything for the fire. A woman like her is an excellent partner..."

The king coughed, interrupting Horus's sermon.

"Let's get back to the point. Source Laws are almost infinite, containing countless rules, so our characteristics are also different."

"But in summary, they are all contained within 107 domains."

"And among them, the three domains known as the World Pillars are time, space, and vitality."

"These are the three primary Source Laws, originally a whole, but now they have been shattered and scattered in the Sea of Source."

The king paused for a moment, finally getting to the point.

"And the Guardian Fire is rooted in the Sea of Source, existing above these three pillars."

"The stronger the Guardian Fire, the more Source it requires, otherwise its power and Source will both be lost.""The sacred flame, now extremely powerful due to our substantial addition of fuel and firewood, has grown far beyond its origin. The structure of the firewood is collapsing, and the flame has become erratic and unstable, sustained solely by my spiritual support."

"There are only two solutions: to obtain another seed of the sacred flame."

Wang looked at Rode with a serious expression, enunciating each word.

"Reduce the scope of the sacred flame, sacrificing the lives of thirty million people in the outer city."

An unspeakable silence enveloped the sacred flame sacrificial grounds.

It took Rode a long while to come back to his senses, and he exclaimed in disbelief:

"Are you saying that the elders of the Supreme Council would choose the second option?"