Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 372 Not Guilty
"The Elden Ring has actually gone out."

Godwin looked up at the sky above the stone stage with a somewhat confused look. The Ring of Law, which was glorious, grand, and solemn, and exuded inviolable divine power, stopped rotating for the first time after running smoothly for half a century.

The four interlocking golden halos had all fallen into a state of decadence and dimness. Godwin could no longer sense the surging vitality from them. Countless glimmers of souls that gathered along the roots of the golden tree lingered around the halos, dancing aimlessly, but could not find a way to return to the tree and be reborn.

On the raised stone bed in the center of the stone stage, Marika lay quietly with her hands folded on her abdomen. There was no trace of pain on her peaceful sleeping face.

However, Radagon and Godwin who were present were both extremely powerful men of the time. In their spiritual perception, the Eternal Queen's vast divine power that once rivaled the golden tree had shrunk into a faint flame, as if it would fall with a slight breeze.

"There is no need to hide anything between you and me," said Radagon, who was standing beside the stone bed, staring at his wife's face, with his back to Godwin, "We all know that she suffered divine punishment from the Supreme Will for coming to Lucia's aid during the Battle of the Broken Star."

"Her fate is linked to the Circle of Magic. She was severely injured and on the verge of death, and the Circle of Magic was also on the verge of destruction. This is not a punishment that befell her alone, but a catastrophe that weighed on the entire border."

"It's Alpha - at best it's the will of order. He cannot represent the complete supreme will." Godwin suddenly said.

"What's the difference?!" Radagon was a little annoyed. "We know that Omega is the other half of the Supreme Will, but how can the world know? Even if they knew, what's the use? Not to mention how terrifying that demon is, does the Golden Dynasty have a chance to choose again?"

"You have also seen the consequences of the escape of the power of Chaos, epilepsy - the Golden People, who had never been afflicted by disease, died of a mysterious plague that killed 300,000 people, five times more than the casualties in a Star Shattering War! This is only less than one ten-thousandth of Omega's power!"

"But this doesn't give Alpha a reason to ride on our shoulders and do whatever he wants!" Godwin, who was always gentle and polite, also became furious. "Just because we disrupted Alpha's plan and made it difficult for Him to maintain an overwhelming advantage in the battle with Omega, we should be held responsible for the disaster caused by Omega? What kind of bullshit is this!"

"Why should we obey Alpha's plan? Do you think that mortals have developed too fast in recent years, the younger generation of demigods are out of control, and many heroes have emerged? Do you want to revive Esti and slaughter her wantonly to cool down the border area?"

"Don't tell me this isn't Alpha's original intention. You know better than me what Krepp and his lackeys have done. And don't say that Alpha only targets the unruly Ancient Dragon Dynasty. The secret envoy has been planning a new round of cleansing of the mortal world since he colluded with the two sages a hundred years ago!"

"We are human beings, not pigs kept in a pen by the Supreme Will to be slaughtered as soon as they are fattened up!"

"If mother doesn't take action, what will happen to the East Territory and the border area? Ah?" Godwin stepped forward and grabbed Radagang by the collar. "That star of destruction will smash through one-third of the East Continent and wipe out billions of lives, including 300,000 Dynasty soldiers!"

"An evil god who should have died thousands of years ago could actually bring a second forbidden disaster to the border area? Is this what Alpha meant by 'cause and effect and return', 'eternal truth', and 'constant order'? Is this everything He promised us?!"

Radagon let him grab him, closed his eyes, and said exhaustedly: "I said, we have no choice. No matter what Alpha plans to do, it will not be worse than Omega."

Godwin came closer, his golden eyes emitting an unparalleled aura, and he said word by word: "I have also said that Alpha cannot represent the complete supreme will."

"We today are far inferior to the Xingyue civilization of thousands of years ago, but how can today's Alpha compare to the Metier of the past?"

Radagon was startled and said angrily: "Don't be confused! Aren't the lessons of Platonsanks and Heraris painful enough? Whether it's God or King, we are just mortals in front of them. We can only choose to obey!"

"Don't worry, I never intend to turn the table over--" Godwin loosened his collar, raised his eyes and glanced coldly at the Elden Ring, then cast his cold eyes on the ground of the stone stage, on the golden ocean and the Elden Beast that had not yet manifested.

"I just want Him to sit down at the table and negotiate terms with Mother, you, me, and the other demigods. Then, He should follow the terms and fulfill His duties as a god, and do His part for the fate of this world."

"If Alpha doesn't understand what we're saying and doesn't want to come to the table, we still have many options. If we just want to maintain a set of laws to support the operation of the Law Ring, besides Him, there are many other beings who are willing and able to do it."

Radagon took a step back and remained silent for a long time before finally speaking: "Now that Marika is so seriously injured, the demigods are still immature. We alone, together with Lucia, cannot do it."

Godwin examined his attitude, his eyes seemed to see through the heart of the king. If there were other choices - for example, if his brothers and sisters all grew up to Lucia's level, or at least one or two of them were able to be of assistance, he would not choose Radagon.

But as Radagon said, his mother was seriously injured after the direct confrontation with Alpha, his most core trump card temporarily left the field, and the North fell at this critical moment. He really had no time and no choice. After a while, Godwin suddenly asked: "If after all this ends peacefully, and your mother is willing to let you go free, do you want to continue to serve as the King of Elden, or give up everything and return to Kalia?"

Upon hearing this, Radagan suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of disbelief.

He hesitated for a long time and then said, "If that day ever comes, fundamentalism is what I have been pursuing all my life, and it is also the lifelong wish of countless people who follow me. I cannot give it up just because of personal feelings."

"But, after it has become popular throughout the world, I hope to abandon all fame and honor, even this name, and return to the Star-Moon Royal Court as a wandering knight."

Godwin looked at him deeply, sighed, and said, "I believe you."

Radagan nodded calmly, then turned to look at Marika, with a hint of worry between his handsome brows. "No matter what your plan is, her injury..."

"During this period, I will leave the outside affairs to you. Mother will not be punished by God so easily. Alpha must be suffering as well. The rampage of the Madness Fire some time ago is a clear proof of this. You just need to shoulder everything that Mother has done in the past three years and protect those children as they continue to grow."

"how about you?"

"I will stay here - Mikaela is still too weak and has embarked on a new path. In the world, only my power is of the same origin as my mother's and is strong enough. During this period of time, I will use my own original power to repair my mother's original power. It may take a long time to completely heal her, but it won't be too difficult to restore the operation of the magic ring first."

"As for the matter in the North, I have already written to the East to ask Lucia to help before I came. Although we had some disagreements before, we don't have to worry about this matter because of his ability."

After saying this, Godwin came to the open space not far from the head of the stone bed and sat cross-legged. He closed his eyes, his long golden hair fluttering without wind, and divine power as heavy as mountains and seas surged out, turning into countless streams of light that poured into the magic ring in the sky.

Just like the surging magic power driving the old mechanical gears, the stagnant golden halo gradually emitted new light, and as more and more divine power poured in, it finally started to operate jerkily.

The revitalized magic ring cast down a golden light like mist, sinking into Marika's sleeping body. The fire of life that was on the verge of collapse seemed to be nourished by firewood, and was growing stronger at a speed that was difficult to detect with the naked eye.

Radagon looked at Godwin's forehead, which was covered with sweat, and a white hair that had grown on his temple. He nodded deeply, then turned and left the heart of the golden tree.

When he passed through the entrance, he saw Aleto waiting by the side. Seeing that he was the only one coming out, he asked coldly, "Where are your Majesty and your Highness?"

Radagan looked at her helplessly, as if he was a little annoyed, and said, "Godwin stayed inside and used the power of the origin to heal her. I can't do anything about this, so he has entrusted all the outside world's affairs to me. If you don't believe me, you can go in and guard her by your side."

"But I have to remind you that it's unknown how long you will be able to recover from your injuries. After you go in, I will activate the Thorn of Rejection to seal the entrance to prevent any unscrupulous people from seeking an opportunity to destroy it. You can only open the door from the inside after the two of them wake up."

Yaleto was stunned for a moment, looked at him carefully, and said, "Thank you for the reminder."

After that, she stepped into the golden tree hole without looking back. She didn't say anything until her figure was about to disappear in the golden light: "Your Majesty and His Highness entrusted the important matter to His Majesty Radagan. I have overstepped my authority just now. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."

Radagon watched her disappear from his sight, sighed softly, waved his hand to summon the thorns of rejection, and sealed the entrance layer by layer.

"I, forgive you for being innocent."

Happy New Year to everyone! As usual, I am not sure about the update tomorrow, and I will definitely not update during the Chinese New Year. I wish you all to eat well, drink well, have fun, sleep well, and be healthy. Use the energy you would have spent on the Chinese New Year to play!

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(End of this chapter)