CH 231

Human Nature +401

The Flower of Humanity +1

Golden words flashed before Rode's eyes, making him happy and compensating for his regret at finding that the monsters had left no ashes behind.

During the search for the giant pit, he had not found a single trace of monster ashes; it was as if they had disappeared into thin air.

Sigh, this method still has its flaws.

Rode thought somewhat discontentedly.

Clearly, I attracted the void, so why doesn't it count as my kill?

If I can't absorb their souls, at least there should be some ashes left, right?

The void is just too greedy.

Hmm, it must be that the "Dark Devourer" isn't strong enough. Its quantification is still in progress, but once it's complete, I'll definitely be able to snatch back my flesh from the void.

Hmph.

Then I'll go self-destruct everywhere. Is taking over the town of Fanzheng still a problem? Is realizing the Holy Fire Plan still difficult?

Haha.

The only trouble is that making the Stone of Resurrection requires divinity.

And he now only has 22 points of divinity left, enough to make only two Stones of Resurrection.

And, the Soul Firewood also requires divinity.

Until he obtains more divinity, this method can only be used as his last resort and cannot be overused.

As Rode pondered, he and the others quickly completed the preliminary inspection of the giant pit.

The actual area of the entire underground city was very large, with tens of thousands of rooms of various sizes, all well arranged and specifically divided into living areas, functional areas, storage areas, and complete drainage and ventilation ducts.

And on the side of the underground city near the earth, the walls, reinforced with spiritual energy, were over fifty yards thick.

Obviously, ordinary monsters were almost impossible to launch an attack from inside the earth towards the giant pit.

Reinforcing with spiritual energy required the consumption of a huge amount of spiritual energy and spiritual resources.

It was easy to imagine how much manpower and resources the Kingdom of Fanzheng had spent to build such a huge underground city.

But it still perished.

Support us at pawrea.com .

In this relic, Rode and the others found a large amount of decayed supplies, many weapons that had long since become disabled, and minerals that had lost all their spirituality over the long years, as well as countless remnants left behind after being devoured by monsters.

From these relics of the previous generation of humans, Rode felt a desolation and the vicissitudes of time, as time had washed away all the glory and pride, leaving behind only this pile of shapeless decay.

But most people did not feel this desolation.

They were enthusiastically cleaning up the garbage, purifying pollution and corrosion.

Because the entire underground city was too large, they could only clean a small part of it.

At the bottom of the giant pit was a huge sacrificial site.

In the center of the sacrificial site was a semicircular pit.

Obviously, this was the location where the Kingdom of Fanzheng used to ignite the Guardian Fire.

The vessel that held the Guardian Fire had long since disappeared, leaving only a bare stone pit, and the fire seed had also disappeared.

Molly decisively ordered the fire guardians to plant the Guardian Fire here and build a new fire guardian sacrificial site.

The fire guardian was an elderly man, and although his spiritual energy had declined, his rich experience was still enough to qualify him for the job.

He took out the lamp containing the Guardian Fire and embedded the prepared vessel into the stone pit, then piled up the ashes of the fire, laid out the firewood, carefully lifted the flame from the lamp, and gently placed it in the center of the vessel.

The fire guardian infused his own spirituality into the fire and piled a large amount of fuel around the flame.

With his strange ritual movements, the flame quickly became intense, and the blazing fire surged, radiating a golden light that illuminated the entire underground pit and the buildings in the walls.

The black mist was dispersed, the darkness evaporated, and the underground city that had been in decline for over a thousand years once again welcomed the light.

Everyone gathered around the fire, following the fire guardian's movements and praying softly:

"May the fire burn forever, may the heroes be immortal, may the spirit continue, may humanity endure."

The deep voices echoed in this incredibly spacious space.

Rode looked up and saw that this place was like a well filled with golden light.

The sky outside the well was thick with darkness.

Just like a frog in a well, humans hid in this safe space. If someone climbed out of the well, they would see that this small sky was just a microcosm of a larger darkness.

The treacherous external environment indeed made people want to stay in the warm glow of the house.

Rode suddenly understood those conservatives.

They weren't all bad people, just scared by the boundless darkness.

After the fire ritual was completed, everyone had a strange feeling, as if this place had become their home.

A warm current spread from their hearts to their limbs, dispelling the darkness and cold.

Deputy Captain Conrad sighed, "No matter how many times I see it, I feel like it's the first time."

O'Hara, this burly man, actually cried.

"Waaah, why is the fire so warm when the world is dark?"

The fire guardian walked over, coughing, and said, "Commander, after the Guardian Fire is planted, its power will stabilize and will not easily dissipate. As long as you pay attention to adding fuel, it will be difficult to extinguish."

Rode remembered what the king had told him and curiously asked, "When the fire is planted, does it take root in the Sea of Source?"

The fire guardian raised his cloudy eyes and coughed, saying, "Commander, you are much more knowledgeable than you appear. Nowadays, young people think knowledge is useless and only know how to fight. Half of the young people have never even heard of the Sea of Source."

Conrad smiled, "Isn't that right? But our new star is different."

"Yes, he knows a lot of postures."

Rode ignored them and continued, "So when the Guardian Fire moves, does the source not dissipate?"

The fire guardian looked up at the golden flame, which was taller than a person, and continued to pour his spirituality into the fire.

"You're right. If the Guardian Fire is not rooted in the Sea of Source, its source will continue to dissipate and eventually completely disappear. The dormant fire must be stored in a special container."Rode asked again, "Is the source of the Guardian Flame also time, space, and the realm of vitality?"

The Keeper of the Flame gave him a warning glance.

"You know too much. The source of the Guardian Flame is shattered and of a lower order. They must undergo the transformation of the Source before they can enter the domain of the three primal pillars. The Holy Flame is not merely a super-strong Guardian Flame."

Rode instantly understood the meaning behind the Keeper's words.

Clearly, he was also a member of the Holy Flame Project.

He was telling him that the Holy Flame could not be replenished by devouring the seeds of the Guardian Flame to compensate for the missing elements in its structure.

Except for Molly, no one else understood what they were talking about.

O'Hara scratched his buzz-cut head, asking in confusion, "What is the Source? Is it tasty?"

Conrad jabbed him in the buttocks from behind, "Shut your mouth, you fool!"

O'Hara swatted his hand away, "What are you poking at? Don't you know your trait is explosion? What if you split my butt?"

"Pah! Could I even dent your steel body?"

The Keeper of the Flame ignored the bickering duo, squeezing out a wrinkled smile.

"Commander, if you have any doubts, you may consult Miss Molly. She is the most diligent girl among us."

Molly's delicate face showed no particular expression as she spoke calmly.

"Mr. Orma, please adjust the direction and area of the firelight projection as soon as possible. We only need to cover thirty yards underground, and the radius above ground must exceed seven hundred yards, with a height of over six hundred yards, trying to cover the entire underground city."

"But do not exceed too much, to avoid attracting monsters. This stronghold is somewhat special, so please handle it carefully."

The Keeper of the Flame nodded, "I understand."

"At least ten days' worth of Pyre Essence must be reserved, and there should be a backup for the stable structure's kindling. If any supplies are in urgent need, please inform me immediately."

"Understood, Miss Molly."

"O'Hara, Conrad, move the carriages into the underground city and block the other entrances. Try to minimize our presence to avoid unnecessary battles."

The two, who were still arguing about whether their butts could be split, immediately stood at attention and responded, "Yes, Deputy Commander."

"And, clear out our stronghold area as soon as possible, it must be done before dusk. Tonight is the Night of the Dark Moon, and we may encounter trouble."

"Yes!"

With a single response, the two led the warriors out towards the pit.

Everyone got busy once again.

The logistics personnel continuously purified the pollution in the rooms, while the warriors swiftly cleared the accumulated decay.

The carriages were moved down, and the underground city had plenty of large rooms.

The spirit horses returned to their slumbering state, turning into small spheres, all guarded by Molly.

The luggage from the carriages was moved out and laid in the cleaned and purified rooms.

With everyone's efforts, they managed to complete the work before dusk, establishing a preliminary foothold.

Rode looked down from a hollow in the upper wall of the pit at the grand space filled with golden light, hardly believing that this was the stronghold they had established on their first day.

Behind him, the cleared residential area was neat and bright, with the ground scented with elf grass juice and dragon spirit flower essential oil, emitting a faint fragrance.

The golden light echoed in the air, with not a shadow in sight.

The light of the Guardian Flame was not ordinary light; it was the power of fire projected into space, unaffected by ordinary matter.

Therefore, even without lamps in the rooms, they were very bright.

The logistics personnel had already set up beds and simple furniture for them.

Apart from the temporary lack of water, this place could already be considered a human settlement.

A strong sense of joy filled everyone's hearts, and the confidence of success had never resonated so strongly within their chests.

Many warriors were eager to try, even requesting to start fighting right away.

But Molly vetoed it.

"Nighttime battles are very dangerous and should be avoided unless necessary. Moreover, tonight is the Night of the Dark Moon, and the power of darkness will become stronger. We do not need to waste our strength."

Her words were very correct, and everyone actually knew this, but they couldn't contain their passion.

So, after arranging the guard duties, Molly dismissed everyone, telling them to go back to rest immediately, to adjust their condition as soon as possible, and to be ready to fight tomorrow.

The warriors returned to their rooms with excitement, waiting for the moment to fight for humanity.

At night.

After eating a can of clam meat as a simple dinner, Rode was preparing to sort out his dreams when Molly walked in through the door.

"Commander, I have a few matters to report to you."