The Last King of Darkness

”Really? ”

Rode ’s expression was a bit stiff.

”Are you reliable? ”

”You won ’t cheat me, will you? ”

But Lauren just laughed a few times and got out of the car, pulling out a strange weapon from his pocket.

It had a long barrel and a heavy stock, looking very much like a classical arquebus, but without a trigger or visible powder hole.

”It ’s called the Raven, a limited-edition Raven-style spirit gun produced by the Siemens factory in 1301, with a 12mm diameter, gas-guided, revolving automatic lock, weighing 7.1 kilo-A, using real silver bullets, with an effective range of 110 yards, a maximum spiritual energy of 60 marks, and a bullet exit energy level of 31. ”

He handed the gun to Rode.

”It was my favorite when I was young, and now I ’m giving it to you.
Its power is quite good, and it ’s best to use it for self-defense when you ’re weak.
There are seven bullets in the chamber, and you can fill it yourself after using them up. ”

Rode took the Raven and carefully examined it in his hand.
The biggest feeling he got from the gun was harmony and unity, from the muzzle to the tail, it was a complete hook, with a large number of intricate patterns engraved on the gun body, but without compromising its streamline.

But how do I fire it without a trigger?

Rode looked at Lauren with an inquiring look.

Lauren smiled and said, ”Hold the gun stock in your hand, concentrate your spiritual energy in your palm, pour it into the gun, and when the spiritual pressure column is full, it will fire… ”

Bang!

A huge gunshot echoed through the quiet neighborhood.

A small water tower standing in the center of the street was hit, and the high-speed silver bullet penetrated one side of the water tower, releasing energy on the other side, blasting a big hole in the back of the water tower.

Clear purified water flowed down, making the muddy streets even muddier.

There was no one on the street, but many figures appeared in the shabby houses around, seemingly looking for the source of the strange noise.

Lauren laughed and said, ”Notify the First District Administrative Office of the Outer City.
The repair costs and damages will be charged to your account.
Don ’t expect me to pay for it.
I just taught you how to use it, not to fire it. ”

Rode ’s hand was numb from the huge recoil of the spirit gun, and he was startled by the words.

”Do I have to pay for it…but I just accidentally…aren ’t we investigating a case? Can ’t this be considered a public loss? ”

Lauren ’s helpless smile widened, ”If I put it on the reimbursement list, Lily will kill me.
This cannot be considered a public loss, it ’s just an accident caused by personal negligence, and cannot be reimbursed. ”

Rode was not very happy.
He had only 42 silver coins in his pocket and was planning to save up to buy some items.

”Don ’t worry too much, it ’s just a small matter. ”

Lauren snapped his fingers, and the horseless carriage automatically reversed along the route it came.

”The important thing is the investigation.
Your life and death depend on our investigative actions. ”

Lauren walked quickly ahead, and Rode ’s heart trembled, quickly following his pace.

The neighborhood was full of mud, and the shoes and pants of the two men were soon covered with small mud spots.Here is completely different from the academy.
The academy is lit up with rows of streetlights that stretch as far as the eye can see.
Each building is adorned with various lights, luminous murals, ornaments, statues, and even trees, grass, vines, and other plants.

Bright light illuminates every corner of it, like a neon city with classical elegance and artistic atmosphere.

If you don ’t look up, the scenery is perfect.

But here, everything has changed.

A dark and thick fog hangs overhead, visible even without looking up.
The dirty streets are lined with dilapidated houses, randomly crammed together with no layout.

There is a lamp in front of every house, hanging on the door or squeezed into the window grilles.
The lamps are old and dim, in stark contrast to the delicate, elegant, brass and crystal lights in the academy.

Shadows abound here, and filth mixed with fermented sour odors permeates the air, making people nauseous.

This is not just incomparable to the academy, but also like hell compared to the environment outside Yusef ’s clinic.

Rode held his breath and felt as if something had shattered in his soul.
He seemed to have seen the true side of this world.

Lauren ’s face was calm, and he seemed indifferent to everything around him, as if he had long been accustomed to it.

After a moment, Rode couldn ’t help but ask, ”Mr.
Lauren, is this a slum? ”

Lauren replied calmly, ”No, this is Thalorian Kingdom, lower district, outer city, district one, Hammer Street. ”

There seemed to be a hint of sarcasm in his words, which was hard to detect for those without enough experience.
But Rode had a knowledge of another world and keenly sensed it.

He was dissatisfied with something inside the royal city.

This made him feel very uncomfortable, and he couldn ’t help but ask, ”In such a crisis, aren ’t we supposed to unite tightly around the Holy Fire, with the king as the core, and work together to protect our homeland? ”

Lauren sneered, ”If it were really as we always preach, why would there be an apocalyptic sect that aims to extinguish the Holy Fire and destroy humanity? ”

He suddenly turned around, and his gray eyes showed a hint of complexity as he glanced at Rode.
His tone returned to indifference.

”I underestimated you, Rode.
Where did you learn that tone? ”

Without waiting for his answer, he continued, ”The royal city is divided into upper and lower districts, and the lower district is further divided into inner and outer districts.
The Holy Fire is in the upper district, and the outer district, district one, is the farthest from it, at the edge of the royal city.
The power of the Holy Fire only radiates a little here, and we cannot light up this place like the academy area.
We don ’t have that much spare light to light up so many spiritual lamps. ”

It was indeed a resource issue, another incurable disease of poverty.

Rode thought for a moment and changed the question, ”What are spare light and spiritual lamps? ”Lauren explained slowly, ”余光 is the light that comes from the Guardian Fire and can dispel the black mist in a small area.
Lingdeng is a special lantern that can project light into the space when it was made, but it can ’t be too far away. ”

”It seems like you have lost your memory severely.
This is the most commonly used item.
Every house will have a Lingdeng, especially in the outer city. ”

Rode suddenly understood how the rooms had a faint light without any lamps.

”Will the Lingdeng with余光 always stay on? ” he curiously asked.

”It needs fuel. ”

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”What is fuel? ”

”An ingredient added to the fire to maintain combustion.
The higher the strength of the Guardian Fire, the higher the level of fuel required.余光 only needs the lowest level of fuel to stay on forever.
This is also the most acceptable for the people of the royal city- they only need to spend a little money to maintain a month of faint light. ”

”But… ”

The street was long and getting darker.
Rode suddenly noticed that some of the lamps had gone out, and the rooms were filled with black smoke.

”Some of them are abandoned houses, and some have already perished. ”

Rode asked in surprise, ”Don ’t you go and get them back? ”

Lauren quickened his pace, and Rode had to jog to keep up.

”There ’s no need. ”

Rode hesitated for a moment and saw a black shadow shaking in an abandoned wooden house.

”But it seems like there ’s a ghost inside… ”

A loud bang interrupted him.
Something exploded in front of him, and black debris scattered, but none of it came near Rode.

Lauren stared at the figure on top of an abandoned warehouse and slowly lifted the iron rod blocking Rode, his tone still calm and soothing.

”Ghosts are not as scary as people think. ”