The Spirit Car settled down on an ancient circular square.
The lighting here was dim; a few worn brass street lamps failed to properly illuminate the ground, and the stone fountain in the center was covered in dust. The surrounding houses appeared somber and profound under the heavy night.
Rod followed the crowd off the car and, led by the driver, entered a large house directly ahead.
Before entering, Rod noticed a large Spirit Lamp hanging on one side of the building, with a plaque next to it that read, "Iron Cross District Defense Department".
The interior of the house was brightly lit; in the center was a large hall, with dozens of small rooms on each side. A man dressed in a dark shirt and black vest stood in front of a large table, staring thoughtfully at the map on it.
The driver called out, "Your Excellency, the Defense Chief, the cadets have arrived."
The Defense Chief snapped out of his reverie, lifting his head; Rod saw a massive scar on his face, cutting diagonally across his eyes, almost as if it had cleaved his head open.
"Oh good, very good, too good, finally some new strength has arrived."
The Defense Chief tried to force a smile, but the thick worries made his facial muscles extremely stiff, and his smile resembled a cry.
The driver handed over a sheet of paper, "Here's their roster and detailed information."
The Defense Chief's gaze quickly scanned the document.
"Retained students, retained students... all retained students? And there's a special cadet?"
A genuine smile spread across the Defense Chief's face, and his spirits lifted.
"Fantastic, all fine young men, the Iron Cross District is saved. I knew the boss wasn't brain-dead, and the General Defense Director hasn't gone utterly mad from his wife leaving and his child not being his, hahaha."
Really?
Is it all right for you to expose your superiors' secrets like that?
The cadets' expressions varied, all remaining silent.
Rod shrank back into the crowd; everyone around him was a head taller, and they all looked intimidating and overly composed. They were equipped with various weapons: broadswords, longswords, whips, hammers as big as grindstones, and even giant axes with four blades. Most wore short jackets and black vests, with belts hung with vials of potions or belongings, looking very professional.
Only Rod stood empty-handed, wearing the academy's light blue robe, clearly a novice.
"I won't be holding everyone back, will I?"
Suddenly, Rod recalled what the Red Armband had told him and determined to accurately state his strength later, hoping to just pick up a few leftovers in the rear.
However, it seemed everyone but him thought differently.
When the Defense Chief called his name, the gazes that turned towards him held no contempt or disdain, only solemnity and curiosity—even the Defense Chief himself regarded him this way.
"So you're Rod? Worthy of being a special cadet, indeed different from the others," he said with a nod of approval.
"Your teammates are Reslin, Egger, and Karamon. Your patrol zone spans White Flower Street to Stone Street, up to Fifth Square—altogether three thousand four hundred households, twenty-one thousand people, got it?"
The Defense Chief's rough fingers moved across the map, his eyes protruding slightly from the scar, fixating on them.
"Understood," the three others answered in unison, excluding Rod.
"Here are your Spirit Whistle and signal flares. Use them immediately if you encounter danger you can't handle; a Guardian will come to support you. I won't say more; you're now official combatants and should be able to distinguish the level of danger."
The Defense Chief stuffed a whistle and two objects resembling pieces of excrement into Rod's hands, then turned to continue assigning teams, giving Rod no chance to ask questions.
A worker in grey came up, "Your Spirit Car is this way."
Hence, Rod set out with the three others.
They left the Defense Department and boarded the Spirit Car.
It was a carriage without horses, small enough to seat just four people.
The moment the door closed, without any visible propulsion, it headed towards the western street, returning on the same route after reaching the destination.
The four stood on the eerily quiet roadside, their faces illuminated by the copper lanterns hanging at their waists.
A large man spoke up first.
"Good evening, I'm Reslin, recently became a full-fledged combatant, currently retained to learn advanced Death Curse defense. My series is Spiritual Fire, my Soul Trait is Barrier; my usual Tactical Position is the front main, primarily defense and auxiliary defense, with a Spiritual Energy Level of three."
"This is Egger, also retained, series Spiritual Fire, Soul Trait Smoke, prefers the Tactical Positions of middle command or middle defense, Spiritual Energy Level three."
"And this is Karamon, series Starfire, ignited four Fire Sparks, most useful abilities are Spiritual Power Resonance and Water Healing, preferred Tactical Position is rear assistant, Spiritual Energy Level four."
As he introduced each person, they smiled and nodded towards Rod.
"We're old partners, and we're thrilled to meet the legendary special cadet. Hopefully, we can work together effectively," he said before all three stepped forward to shake Rod's hand with a look of respect.
Rod hurriedly explained, "You've misunderstood, though I'm a special academy recruit, I don't have any significant strength. I've just entered the academy and am a new first-year student."
All three of them looked quite surprised, and Reslin asked, "What's your ability?"
Rod said, "It's just a slight enhancement of my observation ability, no combat power. I can only use firearms."
The three of them exchanged glances, and Rod clearly saw the tall guy named Reslin gave a signal with his eyes.
The skinny guy called Karamon hesitated for a moment but still took out a crystal ball filled with white fog, "What do you see?"
Rod was now very proficient in using the Eye of the Soul, and with a thought, he activated it instantly.
But as soon as he looked, he almost went blind.
"This... you guys have this kind of thing too?"
The three of them clearly didn't understand what Rod was talking about. Karamon grabbed him, anxious, "What did you see?"
"Should I really say?"
"Of course!"
Rod had no choice but to describe what he saw in the adult video as briefly as he could.
All three were stunned, clearly unprepared to hear about such content.
Suddenly, Karamon cried out and ran away in tears, throwing himself onto the cobblestone path, wailing and pounding the ground.
"...What's wrong with him?"
Trying to contain his laughter, Reslin explained, "That's a crystal ball his ex-girlfriend gave him when they broke up. She said that one day when he could see the last layer, he would understand why they broke up."
Well, that's... something. Rod didn't know what face to make and could only mourn for Karamon, who was turning green with envy.
However, this led to an unfortunate consequence: none of the three believed him anymore when he said he was weak.
"Stop pretending,"
Reslin looked at him disparagingly.
"You think I don't know the cunning plans you special recruits have in mind? Downplaying your strength and then rushing out to save everyone at the critical moment, please, we're three guys here, no one's going to fall for you because of that."
The short one, Egger, shouted, "I'm not scared to measure up against you. I might be short, but I'm not lacking in length at all!"
Despite Rod's repeated explanations that he had only ignited a small Fire Spark, his Spiritual Energy Level was only one, he had no combat experience, didn't understand what a Tactical Position meant, and he had lost his memory, they still didn't believe him.
"Stop pretending. Someone who can see the last layer of a white fog crystal ball must have at least an 80 in Spiritual Vision. I've never met anyone with such strong Absolute Vision."
"That's right. It's said that only high-ranking inspectors from the Investigation Legion can reach that level. Did the New King give you that Fire Spark?"
Karamon, having dried his tears, stuffed the crystal ball into his chest.
"It's yours now."
"This... isn't really okay, right?" Rod instinctively tried to push the crystal ball filled with the adult video back.
"I don't want it anymore!" Karamon said through clenched teeth, "That harlot wasted my true feelings. I couldn't even bear to touch her hand, and she, she, she actually..."
Reslin hooked his neck with a laugh, "No worries, you'll find someone better. Anyway, you've seen it through Rod... I have to say, Brother Rod, did you take a language literature class or something? That description was vivid. Really stirs the soul."
Egger exclaimed, "That's right! I've never heard anything so thrilling in my life. Come on, tell the brothers another bit!"
Karamon glared at them but was pushed by Reslin.
"You fool, why defend her? If she was willing to record it and give it to you, is she still afraid of others watching it? Isn't it good to share some benefits with the brothers?"
Egger also said, "Since you're just a Stone Wood Core with a Spiritual Vision of only 10 and will never see it in your lifetime, why not listen to Brother Rod describe it in detail?"
Karamon fell silent, with an uncertain look in his eyes, but in the end, he still sighed deeply, "Go ahead."
Rod felt extremely embarrassed but couldn't refuse their request, so he had to take out the crystal ball and describe what he saw while looking at it.
It must be said, the female lead's physique and skills were top-notch: slender waist, big waves, long fair legs, flat stomach, alluring secrets, especially her pale little feet. Every time things got intense, her toes would curl finely, provoking airy fantasies.
She was very liberal in her actions, while the male lead was dumbstruck, like a piece of wood left to her devices.
The three quickly became engrossed, emitting pigs' calls one after another, and the monotonous patrol suddenly became lively and spirited.
Although Rod's dignity had taken a hit, he had also gotten on better terms with the three men.
What gave Rod some comfort was that although they insisted he was pretending to be weak, they considered him a reconnaissance type, assigning him the "rear scout" Tactical Position with the duty of providing tactical warnings.
From White Flower Street to Stone Street to Fifth Square, the route was less than two kilometers but very eerie, without street lights. The only sources of light were the Spirit Lamps that each household hung outside.
This was the first area of the Outer City District and the furthest from the Holy Fire in the entire Royal City. The inhabitants here were poor civilians whose Spirit Lamps were very small and dim, casting weak flickers of light hardly enough to illuminate their surroundings.