Chapter 410: The Final Moment

The raging flames turned the pitch-black night into a sea of crimson, creating an eerie atmosphere. The scorching heat raised the temperature in the air by several degrees, and the piles of corpses below the city walls crackled as they burned, emitting thick waves of acrid smoke that were unbearable. Yet even under such conditions, the defending troops remained firmly at their posts.

Inside the city lord’s mansion, illuminated by dim light, Rod and the others gathered in the hall. “This time, the pro-war faction must have lost thousands!” Everyone was somewhat excited about the fire—it had arrived at just the right time, as the battle had reached its climax and the city walls were in grave danger. It seemed the pro-war faction had mobilized all their forces in an attempt to capture Dark Moon City in one fell swoop. Unfortunately, their plans fell short; they overlooked this fire. Without it, it was hard to say how the situation would have unfolded, but sadly, its appearance had completely disrupted their plans.

“How’s the west gate?” Rod asked in a deep voice, frowning. Only the west gate remained quiet as usual. “No enemies detected!” replied an officer from Dark Moon City quickly, with a hint of pride. The west gate was the strongest defense of Dark Moon City, nestled against steep cliffs—enemies had little chance of breaking through there.

Hearing this reply, Rod fell silent again. After a long while, he raised his head. “This fire won’t last long. We can’t relax. Everyone, go back and get ready. Once the fire dies out, the enemy will launch their final assault.”

All available resources had already been used. This fire could hold out at most until dawn. After a day of cooling, the pro-war faction would surely launch their most intense counterattack the next night. Now was not the time to relax but rather the most critical time for preparation.

After agreeing, everyone left. Only Rod, Sognar, Aida, and a few others stayed in Rod’s room. After using their mental powers to ensure no one was nearby, Rod lowered his voice. “How’s the preparation going? Are you confident for tomorrow night?”

“The enemy’s probing today should be over. We just need to wait for them to attack!” Aida said seriously.

These people all knew in their hearts that if it weren’t for the fire today, the final battle might really have arrived soon. At that time, the enemy would be at their peak morale, and fighting them would surely put Dark Moon City at a disadvantage. But the fire had already burned away half of their passion and morale. With tomorrow’s attack, they would surely be cautious, which created favorable conditions for their side.

“Hmm, make sure nothing goes wrong!” Nodding, Rod walked to the window and sighed. Here it was, the day of the final battle.

The outcome of this battle hinged on tomorrow. If they won, then the troll clan should return as well! A clan that had disappeared for a thousand years reappearing before people’s eyes—what kind of sensation would that cause? Could the once-mighty troll clan regain its former glory? It all depended on tomorrow’s battle.

Thinking of this, Rod felt a bit heavy-hearted. But soon he shook his head and smiled. It seemed that staying here for too long made him worry more and more. If the troll clan returned, would his father appear too? The things he sent over must have been used by now.

“Big brother, what’s wrong?” Lucy, who had remained silent until now, asked softly. Recently, Lucy had been unusually quiet, sticking close to Ada all day, leaving Rod wondering what the two girls were up to.

Often, he felt an emptiness around him, a sense of loss, missing the days when Lucy was always by his side. That feeling was great.

“Nothing. Alright, everyone go prepare. Follow the plan—strike at the weak point. This time, we must ensure the pro-battle faction never returns!” Taking a deep breath, Rod turned to the others. He patted Lucy’s head with a gentle smile. Seeing her always made all his worries vanish.

Hearing Rod’s words, Ada opened her mouth as if to say something but ended up staying silent. She tugged at Lucy’s sleeve, gave her a look, and led her outside. Soon after, Sognar also left the room after hesitating for a moment. They weren’t fools—they could tell Rod was preoccupied. But since he didn’t mention it, they didn’t press further. One thing was certain: this matter wasn’t closely related to the battle. After all, if it were about tomorrow’s fight, Rod would definitely not hide it from them.

“You haven’t left?” Rod exhaled as he felt someone still standing behind him.

Looking up at the night sky outside the window, the darkness was thick, yet illuminated by the flames with a rosy glow—quite beautiful.
“What’s wrong? Preoccupied? Thinking about tomorrow?” A pleasant voice came as the person behind him stepped beside Rod and asked jokingly.
Looking at Lilith beside him, Rod felt strangely captivated—her mature charm always caught his eye! Such an aura was something Lucy and Ada lacked.
Feeling Rod’s intense gaze, Lilith blushed, turned her head away, and snapped, “What are you staring at?” But her voice faded noticeably afterward, making it hard to hear clearly.
“N-no!” Rod, feeling guilty, quickly turned back with an awkward tone. Only then did he realize his heart was beating faster than usual.
“This battle should be over now. With the trolls returning, how do you plan to handle matters on the continent?” Without arguing with Rod, Lilith calmed her breathing and asked curiously.
The Source of Darkness was just the simplest battlefield at present! The pro-war faction could be considered their greatest enemy, but wasn’t the outside continent the same?
This time, the pro-war faction had united the vampires, werewolves, and wolves to attack the outside continent, and both sides were locked in a deadly conflict! Even the dragons were drawn into it. Everyone on the outside continent knew that the demons were driving this battle, but how could they know about the demons’ internal affairs?
With countless casualties and widespread suffering, the blame would surely fall on the demons. It was hard to imagine how deep this unquenchable hatred could go, but one thing was certain: if handled poorly, it would inevitably lead to a war ten or even a hundred times worse than the current one—the war between the Source of Darkness and the continent. That was the biggest challenge, one many overlooked. Compared to this, the pro-war faction seemed insignificant.
“After thousands of years of accumulation and development, the continent’s strength has reached a terrifying level—it’s beyond the Source of Darkness’ ability to match!” Before Rod could speak, Lilith murmured worriedly. Faced with this greatest challenge, she really couldn’t think of any good solution and could only wait to see Rod’s plans. Somehow, she had also developed a dependency similar to Lucy and the others—seemingly, as long as Rod was by her side, no problem could stump them.

“The continent!” As he said these words, a complex look flashed in Rod’s eyes. He came from there himself, and he was a man being hunted, abandoned by his friends and pursued by them—such a feeling was unbearable.
Now, the two sides were like fire and water; reconciliation was indeed a difficult task. But it wasn’t entirely impossible.
At least, though the Number of the Dark Source was small, it was filled with powerful warriors. For the continent to conquer the Dark Source wasn’t easy at all. They wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice eight or even twelve of their own to kill a thousand enemies—that was the deep-seated thought of everyone, and it was humanity’s greatest enemy.
Controlling the vampires and werewolves wasn’t a problem. As long as the war faction was destroyed and the trolls returned, these two smaller factions wouldn’t be able to cause much trouble. Making them submit would be simple. Next came the wolf clans! Once these factions were dealt with, matters on the continent could be resolved through negotiation.
He believed they weren’t fools and wouldn’t make unwise choices. With the current stalemate and ongoing wars on the continent, and especially since the countries there weren’t united—with intensifying internal conflicts and hidden turmoil—this gave Rod and his group an opportunity. By exploiting their psychology, breaking through their defenses, and resolving things through negotiation, it was entirely possible. Perhaps it was even something those people desired.
“Let’s discuss this after the situation here stabilizes!” Rubbing his head, Rod came up with a rough plan and said to Lilith, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
Seeing this smile, Lilith nodded understandingly, her expression relaxing as well. She headed outside. Perhaps Rod needed some more time now.
After everyone left, he looked at his room. The dim light illuminated the entire space, stretching his shadow long and thin. A cool breeze blew. For some reason, he suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of desolation and loneliness. How long had it been since he’d felt this? People often have many reflections in the quiet of the night.
The fire continued until dawn before gradually dying down. The strong smell of burnt flesh had spread throughout Dark Moon City, forcing people to cover their noses to breathe. Thick white smoke filled the sky, and the city walls were completely blackened. Scattered flames and black ashes indicated how many lives had been buried here. How many lives had this fire taken? How many corpses? No one knew. But those heart-wrenching screams still gave people chills to this day.