CHAPTER 798: CHAPTER 443: KING OF SHIT_2

"I understand," Rod said seriously, nodding his head, "I will not underestimate it."

Afterwards, Ye Feng and his two companions went into greater detail about the specifics of their battle.

As Rod listened, the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

In their description, these monsters hardly seemed like monsters at all but rather like cunning and sly enemies. Basic tactics such as ambushes from behind were only the beginning; they would even lure the Plague Giant Beasts and then attack during the battle.

Their final defeat came about because the King of Shit brought over an entire pack of Plague Giant Beasts. They were caught between attacks from the front and back during the chaos, and if Amora hadn’t torn a gap and forcibly held back the monsters, their troubles would have been even greater.

"They..." Rod hesitated before asking, "Are they really without intelligence?"

"No!"

Horus denied it emphatically.

Rod tentatively asked, "Isn’t it possible that during such a long passage of time, some monsters could have evolved intelligence?"

"That’s impossible."

Horus’s gaze locked firmly onto Rod, as if to pierce through him.

"The very nature of monsters means they cannot possess intelligence. Remember, in any future battles, no matter what you encounter, no matter how realistic they seem, monsters do not have intelligence, emotions, speech, or the capacity for communication, without exception."

Rod looked at the Archbishop in surprise, not understanding why he was so serious.

Ye Feng gently patted Rod on the shoulder and said softly, "Some monsters take advantage of the confusion within our souls, stirring the deepest desires in our hearts, leading us into illusions, hearing voices we shouldn’t, seeing images we can’t comprehend, but those are figments created by the disturbance of our souls. You must not be fooled."

"Right," another person also said, "When you see an ancient deity asking you if you need strength, you should know it’s an illusion and not agree or converse with it."

"Remember this, and you can see through most traps: monsters are forever unintelligent and incapable of communication. All illusions come from one’s soul."

Rod suddenly understood and smiled, "I get it now, don’t worry about me."

Yet Ye Feng didn’t seem reassured, "Brother Rod, never be careless. The desire for power is incredibly difficult to overcome. Many of our companions knew this and still fell for the trap..."

"Not me," Rod said with a cheerful smile.

"If anyone asks me what power I desire, I’ll just tell them I crave XX."

----

----

Of course, Rod continued with the Plague Forest mission.

Partly because Rod was indeed well suited for this task—his Soul Resistance was quite high, and he often fought in sewer environments, so the Plague Forest was a perfect fit. On the other hand, Horus simply had no one else available.

The situation on the battlefield outside Starry Sky City was getting progressively worse; the concentration of the Black Fog had risen a notch, increasing pollution, and more monsters were awakening from their slumber, making the cleanup work seem further away than ever.

The source of all this trouble was the Sith Giant Brain, which was very cunning, hiding and fleeing between the Material World and the Spirit Realm, with Fire Son Luo Weiya still in pursuit.

With Starry Sky City’s main support gone, the situation grew even more dire. The Investigation Legion sent over sixty new threat reports, and battles everywhere were fraught with danger. The victory Rod brought was but a drop in the ocean for the battlefront of Starry Sky City.

Horus was at his wits’ end, forced to put new threats aside for the moment, focusing on the current fights, and continuously calling for reinforcements from Royal City.

Who else can bring me news of victory?

Horus stared at the Fog Disk before him, the dark land scattered with many small light points, each representing a battle.

Jessica, Tai Luo, Fei Xue... or perhaps it would be Rod again?

He clasped the fifteen Goddess’ Tears given to him by Rod like holding his son, who had been alive for hundreds of months.

Whoever it may be, let there be more such victories.

----

After obtaining detailed information about the Plague Forest, Rod set off with Ye Feng and the others.

With the Black Fog intensifying, each person carried double the amount of Red Tear Stones, equipped Double Spirit Lamps, and carried more Purification Potions.

In such an environment, the monsters would become exceptionally strong, and they had to be even more cautious.

On the way, Ye Feng described his combat style in more detail.

He had ignited eleven Fire Sparks: Hawkeye, Mongoose, Condensing Energy, Light Flash, Balance Sense, Keen Sense, Light Strike, Spiritual Vision, Thunder Charge, Flying Fire, and Spirit Storm, along with Soul Binding Line.

He wielded a Soul Weapon called the Moonset Bow, mainly using it to shoot Spiritual Energy arrows in battle.

His Fire Sparks endowed him with powerful vision that, even if he couldn’t see through the Black Fog, allowed him to lock onto monsters. He also had transcendent agility and strong Spiritual Energy, along with a variety of long-range offensive and control methods.

Rod listened with envy. When he inquired about the specific names of Rod’s Fire Sparks, Rod refused to answer, merely sharing some of their functions.

Ye Feng sighed, "Your Fire Sparks are really strange; I can feel their power, but I have never heard of them before, and I saw no records of them in the Great Book Library. The Fire Sparks you’ve ignited have never existed before; perhaps this is what a newcomer is like."

Rod curiously asked, "How did you ignite your Fire Sparks?"

Ye Feng looked at him with a slightly surprised expression.

"Aren’t you the same as us?"