Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 363: Heartfelt
"Your Majesty, I am Xia Bolili, and I pay my respects to you." Xia Bolili knelt on one knee and bowed humbly.

When he raised his head, his signature fawning smile appeared on his face with an exquisite mustache, like a most loyal subject facing his king.

"My dear, please excuse me—"

Unexpectedly, Radagan personally stood up and helped Xiapolili up. At the same time, he stretched out his hand and motioned him to sit on the nearest sofa. He also sat down in the opposite position without any airs of a king.

Radagan's face, which looked like an ancient Greek statue, smiled slightly and said gently, "My dear, you have worked hard on this journey. The plague is raging in the city, and Marika is ill. It is really difficult for me to get away from this palace. I want to hand over the inspection of the epidemic to the ministers, but the officials in the court always show their strength during party disputes, but retreat when the crisis comes. After thinking about it, I can only hand over this difficult task to you, my dear."

"Your Majesty, why do you say that?" Chapolili bowed his head and said, "Sharing your worries and sharing the worries of Her Majesty Marica is the mission that an eunuch like me is most proud of. I am flattered that you can entrust me with such an important task. How dare I say that it is hard work?"

Radagan sighed with satisfaction, patted his knees and said, "If the people in the so-called 'two parties' had half the awareness of you, the current situation would not be so difficult."

He seemed a little disappointed and angry, and said with emotion: "Let's not talk about the distant ones. The recent one is Taylor Jones, the former acting commander of the Blazing Sun Expeditionary Force, who was just executed in the East Territory. Every time I think of how he dared to collude with pagans, imprison Michaela, and even tried to assassinate friendly forces and ruin the three dynasties' plan to fight against the evil god, I wish I could execute him with my own hands! It is because of the existence of such a termite that Lucia, Latan and other children have a rift with us this time, and the situation in the East Territory has collapsed like this. Alas."

Chapolili had never seen the king in such a "vulnerable" moment. Usually, in front of his ministers and millions of people in Rodel, Radagon always maintained a perfect state like a god.

Although no matter what he did, many people thought he was just trying clumsily to surpass the previous king, people had to admit that Radagon was indeed more "perfect" than Gefulei in every aspect.

With perfect looks, perfect conversation, perfect temperament, and perfect character, it seems that only he is worthy of the perfect Eternal Queen. If he were older, he would seem to be more like Prince Godwin's father than the late king.

However, at this moment, looking at the deep worry between Radagan's brows, Xia Bolili couldn't help feeling a little dazed. Has he always had too much prejudice against the new king?

He heard Radagan sigh, as if forcibly dispelling the depression in his chest, and asked him gently again: "Let's get back to the point, my dear, what is the real situation you have seen along the way? How far has the plague spread? What are the methods to control it?"

Chapolili came back to his senses, quickly adjusted his mind, and replied: "Your Majesty, I have visited 21 blocks including the upper and lower city, 12 hospitals and churches that are treating citizens. Frankly speaking, we are indeed facing the biggest crisis in the past 20 years."

"These are the summaries of the intelligence I just compiled. Your Majesty may wish to take a look first."

Radagon took the thin document from Chapolili and read it carefully. When he put it down, it felt as heavy as a mountain. "I didn't expect that the epidemic in the lower city has reached this point. According to you, the epidemic in the upper city is even more serious. It is only because most of the residents in the upper city have divine powers or blessings that are greater than those of the common people in the lower city that the outbreak of the plague has been suppressed."

"Yes. I got the statistics from Viscount Rowans, and I also visited several wealthy families who were from ordinary families and moved into the upper city only because of their wealth. Compared with the residents in the lower city who suffered a lot and died after two or three days or even longer, they were almost wiped out as soon as the plague broke out."

"That kind of 'madness' seemed to burst from their internal organs, burning those poor people to ashes in an instant. Because the process from onset to death was too short, we didn't find those dead bodies until today when we went door to door to count the dead. The tragic scene is really unbearable to watch."

"We can't go on like this!" Radagan stood up suddenly. "We can't go on like this. The East, the North, and even Marika's condition. No matter how urgent those things are, we must put them aside for now and do our best to eradicate this plague. Every minute of delay will cause countless innocent people to die."

"I can temporarily not investigate who spread the plague. The most urgent task is to adopt reliable methods to reduce the death rate. I saw in your summary that the Ancient Dragon Priests can suppress the disease more effectively than the Golden Priests and doctors. I will summon Fulsanx right away - no, I will go to the Ancient Dragon Temple to meet him in person."

He thought for a moment and added, "Perhaps Lucia has always had some misunderstandings about me. I wanted to slowly resolve them over time, but at this critical moment, as a monarch, I can no longer hesitate."

"Guards! Prepare the carriage to go to the Ancient Dragon Temple immediately!"

"Your Majesty," Chapolili stood up the moment Radagan stood up. Seeing the other party's expression, he finally stopped hesitating and confessed, "Your Majesty, before coming here, I have received a letter from His Royal Highness Lucia Sanx, allowing me to go to the temple to seek help from Priest For and other priests to deal with this epidemic."

Radagang had already walked a few steps, and seemed not to have heard Xia Bolili's words clearly. He stopped and turned his head and asked, "What order did you just say, my dear?"

After Xia Bolili repeated it again, he was stunned for a moment, rubbed his temple, shook his head and smiled bitterly: "That kid is still in the East Territory dealing with the aftermath of the war, but he has already paid attention to the turmoil in the capital. Sometimes, I really envy the Dragon King and the Dragon God."

"It's a pity that he still doesn't trust me, nor Godwin. I'll explain the misunderstanding another day. Since he has considered this step, please take the trouble to bring my token to the Ancient Dragon Temple to contact Ful and others. Wherever there is a need to issue orders, take this token as if I were there in person."

As he spoke, he took out a personal token, grabbed Xia Bolili's hand with one hand, placed it in the other's palm, and clasped his hands together, saying: "This time, the fate of the 8.5 million people of Rodel is entrusted to you, my dear. You can let me down, but you must not let them down."

Xia Bolili felt the coldness of the token in his palm and the warmth from the back of his hand. The complicated thoughts in his heart gradually stopped. He knelt on one knee again, bowed deeply and said: "Your Majesty and His Highness, I will live up to the trust of your Majesty and the expectations of the people of the capital!"

(End of this chapter)