Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 338: Wild Flow
The capital of the kingdom, Rodel, the Golden Temple.

Marika stood quietly on the edge of the terrace on the top floor of the Eternal Palace, her white hands stroking the gold-carved railings, her night-colored skirt dancing lightly in the late autumn breeze.

The dawn in Asiatan came later than in Galide, and it was still dark until this moment. Only the bright light of the golden tree illuminated the sky. The moonlight between the branches was so dim that it was almost invisible.

"Your Majesty," Aleto's cold voice came from the shadows, "Lord Krepp requests an audience."

The queen closed her eyes, her nostrils twitching slightly, as if she was sniffing the morning breeze. After a long while, she spoke, "Let him stand there and wait. Notify him to come in after an hour."

"Yes."

An hour later, when the terrace was shrouded in the milky white morning light, a steady sound of footsteps was heard in the corridor.

Even though he had been standing outside and being ignored for an hour, the owner of the footsteps still seemed very patient. The gap between each footstep was as accurate as the movement of a clock, and his stride seemed to have been precisely measured. After just seventy-two steps, he arrived at the entrance to the terrace.

"Krep, the head of the secret envoys, greets Her Majesty the Eternal Queen."

Marika turned around and looked down at the middle-aged man kneeling on the ground. No matter when, where or under what circumstances they met, the other party was always so respectful, decent and meticulous.

He was dressed in extremely simple yet spotless clothes, with unadorned short hair and a clean-shaven beard, no earrings, necklaces, rings, and not even the slightest scent of perfume - he did not look like a noble who wielded one of the highest powers in the dynasty. Instead, he looked like a poor and bookish teacher.

On the other side, Aleto had quietly appeared in the shadows at some point. The leader of the Black Knife still maintained the ordinary appearance of a head maid, as silent as the shadow of the queen.

"Tell me," the queen said calmly, "what is it?"

Krepp was not annoyed at all, still crawling on the ground, bowing his head and saying: "The Star Goddess Esti has resurrected in Galid, and is currently fighting with His Highness Lucia Sanx and His Highness Latan."

"I know."

"Lord Alpha means that this is a test bestowed upon mankind by the Supreme Will. Everything is under control. Therefore, Your Majesty, please do not interfere in the upcoming battle."

Marika said nothing, just stared at Krepp's head and neck quietly.

After a long while, she suddenly chuckled and said, "The gods rule, the kings fight. This is the tradition of the borderland that has never changed in the past three thousand years. Shouldn't He say these words to Radagan?"

Krepp did not answer, but bowed his head more humbly, even touching his forehead to the ground.

"Okay, I know what He means."

Marika seemed to have lost interest, turned her back to Krepp and said, "Go ahead, don't kneel and dirty my ground."

"Yes." Krepp stood up, took out a handkerchief before leaving, gently wiped the ground where he had just kneeled, and then turned and left.

"You should also go down and rest, Aleto," the queen said in a gentle tone after a moment, "I want to stay here for a while."

"Yes - please feel free to call me if you need me."

Once again, Marika was the only one left on the terrace. She stared at the red sky in the east and remained silent for a long time. Then, she whispered two words in the wind that only she could hear. "Your Majesty Heraris, is this the kind of enemy you have faced before?"

"Carter Pella. I will not lose to you. Even if I am in this cage, nothing will change."

At the same time, unprecedented chaos broke out in various places along the border.

In the Yatan area, the ancient dragon branches in various places received reports of three dragon feast incidents almost simultaneously, and thousands of True Sect believers attacked the temple, forcing the high priest Fulshanks to go there in person to suppress them.

In Lienia, the rebels, who had been completely defeated, made a comeback and broke through several towns in the southern part of the lake area in less than half a day. There were even rumors that someone had witnessed the resurrection of "Glorious" Milea and became the leader of the rebels. The chief of the Kalia Knights, Mugram, personally led the Royal Guards to the south to confront them, but no direct battle has yet broken out.

In the Far Eastern Archipelago, several important island towns under construction in the Ancient Dragon Dynasty were attacked by corrupt sects, suffering heavy losses. The front-line reported that dragon traitors were witnessed among the pagans. Lance Shanks announced a full martial law on the 102 islands in the East China Sea and sent the Knights of the Sky Temple to investigate the movements of the traitors.

As for the North, it has been quiet since a month ago.

According to the news received by Rodel, the three-party talks between the Northern Garrison, the Fire Temple and the Samir people were quite successful, and the situation has been eased. At least so far, no new round of war has broken out.

However, the merchants stationed in the north by various parties, as well as the intelligence routes disguised as merchants, mercenaries, adventurers and wanderers, were all blocked by heavy snow to the north of Lord Fortress, and no news has been heard from any unofficial channels so far.

Amid the turbulent world situation, the land of Gaileyd, where the war was most intense, temporarily became an isolated island that no one was able to take care of.

On this isolated island, the armies of the three dynasties, which were supposed to gradually withdraw from the battlefield, were once again plunged into a battle of blood and fire.

"The number of the second batch of beasts is only about half of the previous batch, but the strength of each individual is at least three times greater. In the front-line kill records, there are already giant adult beasts weighing over 10 tons, and there are also a steady stream of evil god followers falling from the sky."

A mid-level general reported this in the makeshift frontier command camp.

"What are the casualties?" Lacard asked.

"Currently, the casualty rate of the Kalia Dynasty Army is 6%. The Ancient Dragon Dynasty Army, as they joined the battle the earliest, has approached 10%. The Blazing Sun Legion is at 3%. Fortunately, they have taken over half of the frontal defense line and used the tree guard formation to block the frontal impact of the large group of star beasts. The priests accompanying the army are providing emergency treatment to the evacuated troops."

"What about the air blockade?"

The general gritted his teeth and shook his head, saying, "There are too many enemies, and they are coming at a very fast speed. The anti-air attacks of the Magician Corps and the War Colossus Cluster are not very effective. Only the flying dragon warriors of the Ancient Dragon Dynasty can cause effective damage in the sky, but it is still a drop in the bucket."

"As long as Esti doesn't die, the descending star followers will never end. We must solve the problem from the source—" Lani looked at the magic consultants present below, "How is the sealing array prepared?"

"Your Highness, the array has been prepared long ago, but the current situation is that after Esti devoured Segnis, her strength is far beyond what it should be. Not to mention that we have no chance to control her with the array. Even if we succeed in capturing her position, unless Lucia and Latan severely injure her in advance, we can only delay her for a moment at most, without any practical effect."

During the heated discussion, only Michaela sat there without saying a word, seemingly thinking about something.

Suddenly, another general rushed in and reported: "A large number of high-level flying star beasts appeared on the eastern front, among which more than ten giant individuals have power fluctuations that have reached the level of Fallen Angels!"

(End of this chapter)