The hall was as silent as death.
A moment later, Commander Lothar of the Conquest Legion shouted,
"King! We don't have enough people!"
"The Investigation Legion has confirmed that an upheaval has occurred in the Withered Land. After next Fire Day, the dark tide will arrive!"
"We will suffer heavy losses!"
Commander Cross of the City Defense Legion also yelled, "The pressure on the southwest line is immense. After the last special operation, we have disturbed the ancient evils of the Despair Swamp and the Horror Dream Forest. The balance of the Dead Land has been broken, and Iron Armor Fortress is about to fall!"
The King said calmly, "Let the Fire Guardians and Fire Priests at the Sacrificial Altar provide support."
"Uh..."
Cross's voice suddenly softened,
"They are indeed strong. If Iron Armor Fortress could have their help, it would indeed share a lot of the pressure, but..."
Archbishop Horus's voice suddenly rose, "Impossible! Absolutely not! They are the most powerful force in the Royal District, and their duty is to guard the Holy Fire..."
The King said with a smile, "Little Horus, do you think I cannot guard the Holy Fire? Are you implying I am not powerful enough?"
Horus was suddenly dumbfounded.
Of course, the King was the strongest; he could resonate with the Holy Fire, gaining the greatest strength while also being subjected to the strongest imprisonment, condemned never to leave the range of the Holy Fire's radiation.
According to the oldest tradition, the King was the true Guardian of the Holy Fire.
If anyone believed that any monster or Doomsday cultist could breach the Holy Fire Sacrificial Ground, kill the King, and extinguish the Holy Fire, it would be hard to believe.
Yet, the Holy Fire, as their heart, deserved protection, no matter how secure.
This had become their mental inertia, a blind spot in strategic placement.
Suddenly withdrawing the elite Fire Guardians was hard for people to accept.
Everyone was silent, trying to bend their thoughts around this idea.
But soon, Lothar shouted again, "Not enough! King, the pressure on the western line and Star City is also great. We absolutely cannot hold when the black tide arrives."
The King said with a smile, "The cult and the Night Watcher troops in the Royal City can go to support."
Horus immediately sprang up again, "No, absolutely not, what about the Royal City?"
The King said with a smile, "I am in the Royal City. Do you not trust me?"
The people looked at each other, not knowing how to respond. An official hesitantly said, "But, King, you can guard the Holy Fire, but you cannot patrol the entire Royal City. The monsters that breed in the shadows and unseen dark places will greatly disrupt our order."
The King said with a smile, "Have you forgotten that we still have a very strong reserve force?"
Everyone suddenly looked up, particularly the commanders and defense chiefs from the Military War Department, "What is it?"
The King shifted his gaze to Dean Theodore of Jinworth Academy and revealed the answer with a smile.
"It's the students of Jinworth, our reserve combatants. They will help us guard the Royal City."
——
In the end, the King's suggestion was reluctantly accepted.
Although it initially met strong opposition from everyone, the students of Jinworth Academy were their future Fire Spark.
Every graduation season, all the commanders and key functional agencies would rush to the academy to recruit personnel, and some departments even planned their human resources down to the level of incoming freshmen.
Since the New King took over, the Trolian Kingdom had been in an expansionist posture. With the acquisition of extensive resources and living space, there was a severe shortage of personnel everywhere.
Every agency eagerly awaited their graduation. Dean Theodore had been pressured or threatened more than once, with ludicrous proposals emerging several times to change the annual cycle to a biannual one.
The King's sudden proposal to throw these still-developing treasures into potentially dangerous real combat scenarios was hard for anyone to accept.
However, the specific execution methods later proposed by the King were so excellent that they minimized the risks.
Based on the foreseeable enormous benefits of following the King's plan, it also substantially appealed to them.
After all, no one does not want "everything."
It's just not allowed in most cases.
Thus, the King's plan was passed, and the specific execution was assigned to the Military War Department.
Everyone was full of expectation yet filled with worry, uncertain about what the outcome of such a risky plan might be.
Would the recently flourishing Trolian Kingdom continue to prosper, or would it be interrupted, returning to that once dark and cold era?
No one could be sure, but everyone was convinced that once they overcame this difficulty, dawn would come, and the fervent flower of life would bloom across this dreary and deadly land.
Just as predicted in the Tesrivian prophecies.
When the desired King is born, the darkness will end.
——
Tesrivian Calendar, 1325.
The third month.
The third day.
Rod declined the green-haired fairy's invitation to visit the academy market's fairy bar to "experience the Spirit Melding," and he did not agree to join Wayne at the "Star Restaurant" for the orientation party organized by the students themselves.
He also skipped Kashan's special training in the Spiritual Power Breathing Method—
Regular spiritual energy enhancement training was of no use to him; he seemed only able to enhance his spiritual energy by igniting stars.
What Rod needed now was to learn some combat methods and techniques, as this was currently his weakest point.
Luckily, his status as a "special student" played a crucial role at this time, and the Academic Affairs Office specially tailored training classes for him.