Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 350 Post-War Meeting
"No matter what, if we win this war, our gains will far outweigh the cost," Lance said with gentle eyes, "I should have let you rest for a while, but your identity is different now. Many things are no longer suitable for me to do on your behalf."

Lucia opened her mouth, speechless for a moment.

He knew that after this battle, his influence had far exceeded the Ancient Dragon Temple system that originated in Rodel.

Leading 120,000 elite dynasty soldiers to defeat the star beast tide and kill Fam Azra's thousand-year-old enemy Esti, this feat was enough to earn him the rank of king.

Even if the time was not ripe and he intended to postpone his title of king, it would not change the fact that he was the supreme ruler of the Ancient Dragon Dynasty. Whether in military or diplomatic terms, Lance Shanks was destined to retreat behind the scenes, and he would take charge of the power of the lord of the dynasty and decide the direction of Fam Azra's progress.

He was not afraid of the hardships he would have to face by shouldering this responsibility, but looking at Lance, who had given everything for the dynasty but had no attachment to power at this moment, he couldn't help but feel a trace of bitterness and pity in his heart.

He understood that she wanted to hear him say that he would take over everything from her and lead Fam Azra towards a greater future as a king - this had been her long-cherished wish for hundreds of years.

But he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Sister Lance, I trust you, even more than I trust myself."

"Even if you think I should take over from you and lead our people, lead the Storm Sea, the Far Eastern Islands, and everything in Fam Azra, even if I must become a king who has absolute power, I still hope that you will always be by my side, so that I won't be so lonely on the road to becoming a king."

This time, Lance Shanks did not make a promise easily, but stared at him for a long time, so long that his heart began to beat more violently, and he nervously thought about the mistake in his words.

Finally, she narrowed her eyes, her gentle smile was like melting spring water, and she said softly: "Okay."

Lucia walked Lance back to the rest room, and the two agreed to invite all the forces in Selia to hold a meeting tomorrow to discuss the next steps. It was not until Lance suppressed his smile and reminded him that he should not stay in the corridor for a long time with his injured body, and then forcibly locked him outside the door, that Lucia reluctantly said goodbye and left.

Leaning against the heavy soundproof sandalwood door, Lance closed his eyes and savored the moment for a long time, a touching smile gradually forming at the corner of his lips.

"It's that familiar guy again. He can trap someone for life with just one sentence. Is this the so-called 'king's magnanimity'?"

“Although I’ve always thought so.”

The last sentence was as light as a dream talk blown by the wind. As soon as it came out, the ancient dragon priest whose power reached the highest level of divine power bound the air flow within a radius of ten meters and quickly snuffed it out into nothingness.

The next day, Lucia, still wearing several bandages, invited Kalia, Ceria, Luther and Michaela to hold the first emergency meeting after the war.

Since the participants were all the same people who had fought side by side in this event, the content of the meeting could not be made public, so the venue was simply set up in the State Guesthouse, with Fenlei and Yadullah personally leading a team to heavily guard the perimeter to ensure that there would not be any leaks.

"Let me report the casualty statistics first." Lucia looked at Anasia, who was in charge of intelligence affairs.

"Yes." The Storm Knight Captain stood up and saluted, then took out a thick statistical list.

"A total of 116,732 Ancient Dragon Dynasty soldiers fought in the battle, 12,303 were killed, and 5,708 were disabled; the Kalia Royal Legion fought in the battle of 103,650, 7,620 were killed, and 2,859 were disabled; the Blazing Sun Legion fought in the battle of 75,200, 19,805 were killed, and 3,625 were disabled." Hearing these numbers, everyone felt heavy in their hearts. Although in this era, with the comprehensive and powerful healing prayers, most of the seriously injured can receive timely and effective treatment, but when faced with serious injuries such as broken arms, they are often still powerless.

A war that lasted only two days claimed the lives of 50,000 brave and loyal soldiers from the three dynasties.

"In addition, the Selia Night Mage Corps suffered more than 1,800 casualties, a loss rate of nearly 60%. The second elder, Mr. Inovice, and the third elder, Mr. Euoris, both suffered injuries from their origins during the sealing of the Tomb of the Gods and are currently recuperating. Four elders of the Hall of Mystic Arts also died in the battle."

"Finally, it's the ancient dragon from the Dragon Tomb. Your Highness should already know the specific casualties." After reporting here, Anasia turned to the leaders of the other parties present.

"Of the three thousand ancient flying dragons, nearly 70% died within half a day after the battle because they had burned out their original power. The rest were also almost exhausted. After meeting with Her Highness Lucia, they are returning to Fam Azra under the escort of Lord Gustav. It is estimated that the longest-lived among them can only last another three years."

Lucia sighed deeply. He was glad that he had briefly recovered from his serious injuries after beheading the stars. The only thing he did at that time was to rush to the dynasty camp to bid farewell to those ancient martyrs.

As long as he closed his eyes, the scene would replay before his eyes with incredible clarity. He would probably never forget it in his life: those ancient dragons on their deathbed put away their proud dragon bodies, transformed into human forms and rushed forward, just to see him one last time up close.

He held a withered old man in his arms as he watched the meteor shower that covered the entire land of Gelide. More than 2,000 old people who had just regained consciousness at the brink of death were glowing with unprecedented spirit. They hugged each other's bodies, sang old war songs with their arms around each other's shoulders, and gazed at the Far Eastern sky with tears in their eyes.

Beyond the limit of their sight, the city eternally suspended in the sky is where their life begins and where their death ends.

Afterwards, he followed the old dragons' wishes and ordered their remains to be burned to ashes with dragon flames. Gustav led the remaining hundreds of old dragons to escort them back to Fam Azra.

"Ceria, and all of the Gelides, pay the highest respects to the sacrifices of our predecessors in Dragon Tomb and the blood shed for the three great dynasties." Cassius, the chief elder of Ceria, stood up and saluted solemnly.

The old man's eyes, which were once as sharp as a sword, became gentle. He looked deeply at Lucia and Latan and said, "In this battle, you, Your Highnesses, not only saved Gaileed from the coming of the evil god, but also cut off the hatred and fate that has been passed down from generation to generation in our Selia. From now on, all Selia people, including the Night Mage Corps and the Hall of Mysticism, will obey your orders without hesitation."

As soon as these words came out, the Black King Elder and the White King Elder present at the Hall of Mystic Arts immediately stood up and agreed. Lucia and Latan helped the elders to sit down on the left and right, and said, "We are lucky to have such a promise from you. In the future, many matters of Galide will rely on your prestige and ability. At that time, I dare not give you orders but only requests."

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the Golden Dynasty played an extremely disgraceful role in the war's final outcome. Although the Blazing Sun Legion's desperate fight at the last minute saved some face, that was only the face of the two golden gods and the Blazing Sun Legion itself.

The New Party was involved in imprisoning gods and assassinating friendly forces. The secret envoy was even the top planner of Esther's revival. No matter how this matter ends up, at least the Golden Dynasty will never be able to get involved in the ruling power of the Gaileid region.

Even if we put aside the relationship between the Seria lineage and Kalia and the ancient dragons, from a realistic perspective, Cassius and the Black and White Kings will inevitably pledge allegiance to the Moon and Dragon Dynasties, which are already highly bound together.

In terms of personal status, Cassius is almost on par with Luther and Azrael. Several elders of the Hall of Mysticism are also Latan's teachers, so it is natural for them to be polite in procedure.

After some polite expressions, they discussed the issue of compensation for the dead and disabled. Lucia knocked on the table and said, "Next, let's talk about Gaileed's future strategy in detail."

(End of this chapter)