Chapter 55: The Power of the Dark Races

“You need to train here for some time until you reach the Saintly level!” The man in black nodded slightly at Rod and spoke calmly.
“What about the demons?” Rod suddenly stopped in his tracks and asked in a low voice.
It had been almost two months. During that time, he had devoted himself entirely to training, almost forgetting everything outside. He remembered that two months ago, the man in black had told him that the demons had used schemes to deceive the entire continent before invading Huaye City and taking over the entire Tarot Kingdom, marking a grave setback for them.
What else had happened in those two months? He hadn’t asked, nor had the man in black told him. He really didn’t know what the situation was now.
“Heh, I thought you’d forgotten about this. So you still remember? Rare. It seems you’re not completely heartless after all!” Rod’s words made the man in black pause briefly, who then gave a half-smile.
“The entire continent is in trouble now. Not only were we deceived by the demons a while back and suffered heavy losses, but now the entire Tarot Kingdom is under the control of the dark races. The demons use the Tarot Kingdom as a base to gather numerous allied vampires, werewolves, and magical beasts, slowly expanding their territory. In just half a month, they annexed two neighboring kingdoms, with the other two also in grave danger. In one month alone, their territory has expanded five times!
It took another month for reinforcements to arrive and stabilize the situation, but by then it was already too late. Although the Church also arrived at that time, the demons had already established a firm foothold and ignored attacks from the reinforcements and the Church. The demons wreaked havoc, while the vampires and werewolves were extremely cunning. So far, no clear winner has emerged, and upon closer analysis, it seems the demons even gained some advantageous territories and expanded further.
Don’t worry. This battle won’t end in three to five years. If it ends in that time, it will already be considered quite good. You won’t miss it!” The man in black continued to explain to Rod.

Listening to the black-clothed man’s account, Rod’s brows furrowed tightly. The complexity of the situation far exceeded his imagination; everything seemed especially difficult. Humans or demons—who would ultimately win? After seeing everything clearly, Rod found himself no longer so eager to know the answer. What he needed to do now was complete his training, learn more, uncover the secrets of his identity, and resolve many doubts, so as to fully understand this world.

However, the black-clothed man’s analysis surprised Rod greatly. He hadn’t expected it to take so long to resolve this matter! The current situation was so intricate that it was hard to imagine the demons’ strength could be this great.

“The demons are that strong?” Thinking of this, Rod couldn’t help but ask. The demon population was small, as were the vampire and werewolf tribes. Rod couldn’t figure out how they managed to persevere until now without suffering any losses.

Even if they were strong, it shouldn’t be this extreme. After all, many ants can still kill an elephant. Could they really confront the entire continent and all of humanity?

“Strong, extremely strong. It is said that there are already 35 god-tier warriors among those who have appeared so far, and nearly a thousand saint-tier warriors. Just with these people, they can hold their ground for a long time, not to mention the rest of their forces and the army of magical beasts. Dragons are still their allies. Those greedy reptiles—I guess the demons had to spend a lot to win them over. Once the demons achieve their goals and become much stronger, they will be abandoned or even slaughtered. These reptiles still can’t see this. Damn those reptile tribes!” Clearly displeased by Rod’s question, the black-clothed man replied gloomily.

This made Rod gasp in shock. 35 god-tier warriors, and that was only the number that had appeared so far, meaning there were more to come. What kind of concept was this? There were only a few god-tier warriors on the entire continent. The imbalance was staggering. The power that one god-tier warrior could exert was self-evident. Add in the thousand saint-tier warriors, and this force could indeed dominate the continent. He never expected that a thousand years of accumulation would endow Rod with such a powerful lineup.

“Alright, kid, don’t worry. If nothing serious happens, just take care of yourself. It’s better to make use of your time! Don’t forget you still have a lot to do. Once that day comes, you’ll be able to challenge those people, and then you’ll be qualified to know more!” Seeing Rod’s silence, the man in black interrupted his thoughts and urged him impatiently.

It was fine not to mention it, but once it was brought up, Rod remembered many things. Looking at the man in black, a smile appeared on his lips that made the man in black shiver: “Weren’t you going to tell me those things when my speed met your requirements? Is it time to tell me now?” Rod pressed further.

“Cough, cough, cough… Well, I didn’t expect you to meet the standards so quickly! Never mind, it’s okay to tell you. Go ahead, ask whatever you want to know!” With a series of coughs, the man in black said reluctantly, looking frustrated at Rod. This was the first time he had shown such an attitude.

He remembered having been at this level for so many years, holding this position for so long, and had never felt like this before. He had always been omnipotent and above everyone else, but today, he began to waver!

No, to be precise, it was when facing this kid that he started to waver.

“How did you know about that iron box? Only the old man and I know about it. Others shouldn’t have seen it. How did you find out?” First, Rod asked the question he had been puzzled about for a long time, the most crucial one.

“Kid, I really can’t tell you that. All I can say is that someone told us, and you know that person too. Once your strength reaches a certain level, you’ll naturally be able to meet him. He’ll come to you because he’s been keeping an eye on you! Anyway, you don’t need to ask about the rest. I’ll just tell you directly!” Hearing Rod’s question, the man in black’s expression changed instantly. Although his face couldn’t be seen, his actions and tone revealed his change immediately. His tone became tense and helpless, and his whole demeanor seemed unnatural.

“I really can’t talk about this box!” Seeing Rod’s puzzled expression, the man in black said with a grim face, regretting having made such a bold claim earlier. Now, faced with this situation, he felt utterly embarrassed.

With a sigh, he looked at Rod and said, “Forget it. I’ll tell you the rest to make up for it. It’s not that I don’t want to share some things, but I can’t. Otherwise, if the higher-ups find out, both of us will be in trouble. There are things you don’t need to know now; you’ll understand them through your training over time. There are also things that the higher-ups will arrange for someone to tell you. What you need to know is that the demons are now divided into two factions, each with a different attitude, and after splitting, they became enemies! Though it hasn’t reached the point of fighting to the death, the vampires and werewolves following them have become so hostile that they often fight among themselves. And you belong to just one of these factions! Your father is also a demon, and he holds a high position—something you must have noticed. Although you’re a demon, you’re different from those demons you’ve seen before. That’s because of your bloodline! Your bloodline is extraordinary! The demons are currently divided into two groups: one is the group that’s attacking the continent now. They are the strongest, and their goal is to return to the continent, build a powerful dark kingdom of their own, and reclaim the entire continent to reign once more. The other group is the conservative faction, which wants to stay in the Source of Darkness and avoid getting involved in matters on the continent. The events from a thousand years ago caused them too much harm, so they no longer intend to emerge. This is the biggest conflict between the two factions.”

Your father’s faction is the conservative one. Let me tell you, those who pursued you and that old man in Blaze City were not some secret organization or powerful group—they were members of the demon race, assassins sent by them; they wanted your life! As for those radicals, you can be of great help to them because of your special status among the conservatives! As for exactly how, I can’t tell you now. You’ll gradually understand these things as training begins. Do you think the trial arranged for you by our organization is something we do out of boredom? Or that I, a god-tier warrior, have nothing better to do than follow you around?” With a sigh, the man in black looked at Rod and explained in detail. As he listened, Rod’s expression grew increasingly surprised and incredulous. He never expected so many secrets to be hidden behind this—everything seemed even more confusing!

“That’s all I can tell you about this matter. Even just saying this already violates the organization’s rules, so punishment is inevitable. You kid… never mind. Train hard and don’t disappoint me!” The man in black patted Rod’s shoulder with a bitter smile. He knew that saying these things meant he couldn’t avoid punishment; it was his own mouth to blame for making such a casual promise. All he hoped was that Rod wouldn’t disappoint him by training hard and achieving good results, so he could show off in front of the other old guys—thus making his punishment worthwhile.