Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 382: Reality and Falsehood
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for my presumptuous behavior..." High Priest Gulag turned to Kalelius again, "Please go to Otina in person to fight against Lucia Sanx!"

Without waiting for the ancestors to express their opinions, Gulag continued to explain: "In terms of strength, there are already hundreds of third-generation giants stationed in Utina, so the defense pressure is not that great. Mocero, Hilber, and Vikia are all capable of doing so. However, the significance of your Majesty's visit to our clan's cause is incomparable to theirs."

"In ancient times, our ancestors were defeated by Platon Sanx. In the Age of Resurrection, the former king was defeated by Ge Fulei. Until today, you have waited for another chance to fight against the king. Find him, defeat him, and kill him. Only when the new giant king stands on the corpse of the new dragon king and releases flames, will all the races in the world face our return in fear."

At this point, Mocero and Hilber, who were originally eager to make a move, had to restrain themselves. The fifth ancestor Vikia was originally a disciple of Gulag, so naturally he would not have any objection.

No one is qualified to compete with the king.

"I understand the High Priest's intention."

Kalelius nodded with a smile. Just when the ministers below thought that the dust had settled, he suddenly changed the subject and said, "But, the place I want to go is not Otina, but Thor."

Gulag's old face froze there, and he didn't know how to answer for a moment.

"Every word of the High Priest's analysis touched my heart, but I think that you and everyone here still don't have a thorough understanding of the dragon."

"Do you remember the first sentence I said today? How much do you know about Lucia Shanks?"

"The so-called unexpected and surprising actions that defy common sense are not because he likes to take risks or is deliberately ingenious. On the contrary, whenever there is a simple and direct way to solve the problem within the rules, he prefers to be upright and use a magnificent momentum to crush the old with a splendid force."

"You saw him disguised as a mercenary to participate in the battle festival, but you forgot that his right to judge the Duoris family originated from a head-on duel with Greg."

"You saw him lead his troops into the Two-Finger Church to anger Beta, but you forgot that Beta did not die at his hands, but died at the hands of the Supreme Will."

"Even in the most recent case, you saw him go against the logic and rules of the princes and nobles several times in order to conquer the School of Origin, but you forgot that his final resort was still to lead an army of 300,000 to face the enemy head-on and kill the gods single-handedly."

"When he takes risks, it is not because he enjoys taking them. Instead, he makes the most ruthless and effective decision with the support of massive intelligence and resources. If he did not have the Ancient Dragon Temple intelligence network that spreads all over the world, if he did not have Fam Azra's profound foundation over tens of millions of years, if he did not have the three dynasties' invisible new alliance with him as the core, if he did not have the hard power that is gradually approaching Godwin's, believe me, he would never gamble with his own life and fight a war that is beyond his calculation and control."

"The high priest said something that got to the point - our unusual move of suppressing Roghar may deceive others, but in his eyes, his first reaction is that we are going to verify the extinguishing of the magic ring and Marika's condition. The next second, he will realize that there is an insider in Rodel, and his position is very high, enough to reveal all his movements within the sub-altar."

"So, the so-called two slow and one fast, two bright and one dark, since this 'dark' has been no secret to both parties from the beginning, using it as bait, I'm afraid it lacks some sincerity, right?"

Gulag pondered for a long time, and finally took a long breath, shaking his head and sighing: "Your Majesty's concerns are indeed more far-reaching than mine."

Vikia came out to rescue his mentor at the right time and said, "Your Majesty, do you think that, as the high priest said before, the deployment of troops in the direction of Rodel's portal is the first step of the strategy of confusing the enemy, and the energy fluctuation of 30,000 people in the direction of Sol is the second step. Lucia wants to use our understanding of him to lure us into making a misjudgment. In fact, Otina is the real bait, and the ultimate goal is to hide the assault troops among Sol's 'suspicious troops'?"

The Giant King nodded with satisfaction. He had never hesitated to show his appreciation for this young think tank. He had said publicly more than once that Vikia could inherit the mantle of the High Priest Gulag. Deep down, he appreciated the other party's sense of propriety and his ability to advance and retreat, and his subtle grasp of every word and action was no less than those humans with a family background in learning.

All the points that needed to be made had been thoroughly pointed out. Vikiya himself would not fail to understand such a superficial question. He was asking on behalf of the reckless men below him who only knew how to fight, on behalf of Gulag to save their teacher's face, and on behalf of Kaleris in order to demonstrate the king's strategy at the beginning of the dynasty.

Just like Gulag said, times have changed. Giants can no longer be brutal beasts that choose their prey. Only smart people like Vikia will be qualified to follow him in the future.

"I think that Lucia is better at using the right strategy than the unconventional one. As the ruler of a country, it is smarter to use the situation to pressure others within the rules than to take risks all the time. They cannot see our trump card in the north because they are 15,000 meters away from us. That is why he thinks the situation is still in the hands of the three dynasties."

"He thought he had more intelligence than us, so he used our insider in Rodel to spread the smokescreen. He thought he knew the North better than we knew him, so he threw out the option of Otina after two layers of cover-up to attract our attention. If I am not mistaken, he would even let his soldiers think he was going to Otina until the last moment."

Kalerius showed an appreciative smile and exclaimed: "The truth and falsehood are concealed, the appearance and the inside are reflected. If I had grown up under his experience, the choice I made would not be better than his."

"Unfortunately, he is only concerned with the current situation, but what I see is the human heart."

"Whether it's a quick victory by beheading or a long tug-of-war, perhaps any strategic decision is not that important to him, but before all subsequent strategies are implemented, based on his estimation of the strength of both sides and the responsibilities on his shoulders, he will definitely challenge me to a fight."

His lava-colored pupils were filled with a fanatical fire. "If you don't come to the throne and show your talents before me, how can you win the hearts of the people in the North?"

"Inform the entire army. I will personally go to the Central Battle Group to fight the invading enemy at the Thor Teleportation Gate. All soldiers must guard their respective positions and are not allowed to rush to the rescue without the king's order!"

Both Gulag, the high priest of the second ancestor, and the other seven ancestors knew that their king wanted to use Lucia Sanx to establish his authority, so they did not persuade Karelius to recruit more troops.

The country has just been established and the situation is not stable. If the king can see through the enemy chief's strategy and use his supreme power to kill the old enemy whose ancestors have been entangled with the giants for thousands of years, then the overall situation can be truly determined.

"Yes." Everyone responded in unison.

"Of course, since you have some free time, it would be a good idea for you to send some people to guard Otina to prevent the infiltration of small enemy forces. Once we have annihilated the enemy, we will have time to destroy the two large portals, and we will have nothing to worry about."

Kalerius looked at Gulag, still with a respectful smile on his face, "If the high priest is still worried, you can go to Otina and just relax."

Gulag took a half step back, straining his aging body, bending his spine inch by inch, bowing, and said in a hoarse voice: "Minister, I obey your command."

(End of this chapter)