Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 430 Card Player
Following Lucius's narration, Lucia and the three generals quickly grasped everything that was happening in the south.

After the Eternal Queen Marika fell into sleep, most of the three dukes of the Old Party chose to protect themselves. Radagon and the New Party have actually gained control of the Knights of Rodel and the Southern Legion.

There are four main forces in the military sequence of the Golden Dynasty. Among them, the Northern Legion and the Lord Garrison Legion are collectively called the Northern Army. They have been completely destroyed in the Northern War that just broke out. The remaining three are the Knights of Rodel guarding Asiatan, the Southern Legion guarding Nimgfu, and the Scorching Sun Legion directly under Godwin.

Others such as the Eastland Legion that had just withdrawn from Gaileed, the Storm Sea Legion scattered in overseas cities, and the Dikedas Garrison Legion, although they also have a total of more than 200,000 people, are either second-line troops with relatively weak combat effectiveness, or they guard important locations all year round and cannot be moved easily, and are generally not counted as the main force sequence.

Now half of the Scorching Sun Legion belongs to Lucia, and the other half is led by Godwin's chief guard Widam to stay in Asia. The New Party is temporarily unable to get involved in this part of the force. The remaining Rodel Knights and the Southern Border Legion, totaling 450,000 people, are all the mobile forces that the Golden Dynasty can mobilize now.

In other words, Radagan had clenched all his strength into a fist and smashed towards the Ancient Dragon Dynasty with an unstoppable momentum.

Clearing the power of the Ancient Dragon Temple from Rodel was only the first step. If possible, his real goal was to keep For and the Ancient Dragon Knights in Asiatan forever, and then take advantage of the situation to wipe out the Gmir region, and even march out of the east to recapture northern Gelide.

Under this situation, the previous strategy of approaching the Lord's defense line and forcing the Golden Dynasty and the Southern Expedition Army to attack the Lord's fortress from the north and south could no longer continue. The New Party, which had broken off relations with the other party, could no longer send troops to respond just because of the "theoretical" possibility of breaking through Lord and regaining the northern border.

Without the threat from the south, the Fifth Ancestor Vikia and the Giant Dynasty's troops stationed on the Lord front line will be able to move northward calmly. By then, nearly 400,000 troops will join forces, and Lucia's 8,000 people will completely lose their room to maneuver. Once a frontal battle breaks out, they will be wiped out in an instant.

In Radagon's idea, if spies like Lucius were to spread the news, the morale of the entire southern expeditionary army, including Lucia herself, would be shaken, and the only chance of survival would be completely lost.

Get rid of Lucia with the help of the giants, and wipe out all the layout of the Ancient Dragon Dynasty in the inland areas before Kalia makes up his mind to react. Finally, gather the troops and counterattack the Giant Dynasty that is exhausted by Lucia's dying struggle.

After regaining the northern border, he could easily accept the remaining forces of the Sol City defenders and the Northern Expedition Army. At most, he could hand over Lucia's body, the head of the Giant King, and black gloves like Morik Arnold, and sign another Dragon Tree Alliance with Lance who retreated to the Far East.

It doesn't matter what the ancient dragons think. They have already lost the capital and opportunity to fight for their lives. What matters is that in the eyes of the world, the name Radagon will no longer be a fake that temporarily fills the throne after the War King was expelled. The people of the border areas will gather around him just as they converted to the Golden Order when the dynasty was first established, and together with him they will usher in a new era of fundamentalism.

Would the elders of Lance and Fam Azra go crazy and launch a counterattack? It was possible, but without the perfect springboard of North Gelid, it would be difficult for the Ancient Dragon Dynasty to project enough power inland with its current maritime strength.

As for the Dragon King and Dragon God who showed signs of their existence in the battle of Shattered Star? Lucia thought from the perspective of Radagon. Whether it was the sudden action of flipping the table or the suspicious fire incident in the capital, it showed that there was a certain side of the Supreme Will behind him.

Either Alpha or Omega, but no matter what, the other party must have promised something to Radagon. Once a crisis breaks out that he cannot afford, they will take on higher-level enemies for him.

In short, if we look at the problem between the Golden Dynasty and the Ancient Dragon Dynasty in isolation, assuming that Lucia is not sufficiently prepared, Radagon's combination of punches does have a high success rate.

But just like when Rodel sealed off the entire city and discovered that the Ancient Dragon Temple was deserted, since she started planning to split off Northern Gelide, how could Lucia really not consider the possibility of a split between the two sides?
On this gambling table where countless forces are intertwined, what cards each force can play depends on what cards they have.

Lucia had very few cards, so when faced with the invitation from the Eternal Queen, he chose to go straight to the capital without even a second thought. Marika had a lot of cards, but the game she was betting on was bigger and more dangerous, so she chose to retreat behind the scenes and watch from the sidelines. Lucia even thought more than once that maybe every concession she made since Radagan took power and the rise of the New Party was part of her manipulation.

For example, in the current dispute, as long as she is still sleeping in the heart of the golden tree, she is inherently invincible.

And when Radagan mistook a card that wasn't even a hole card for himself as a poker player, no matter who won in the end, how could he have a good ending?

"With your authority, do you know how many of their people are still in this army?" Lucia looked at Lucius.

"I should be the last one among the southern expeditionary forces," said the young scout who had called himself a "spy" a few minutes ago, with a depressed look on his face. "I didn't know how many there were until Captain Evan died in a skirmish with the giant scouts yesterday. He was my direct superior, and before he died he told me everything he knew, including the news he was going to spread this time."

"There are about fifty brothers stationed in the 70,000 Blazing Sun Army and 40,000 Storm Knights in the East Territory. Twelve of them were selected to join the Northern Expedition Army. By the time Your Highness divided the troops to the south, six of them had died in battle. There are only two of us in the Southern Expedition Army."

"In fact, we didn't want to do this after the Battle of Shattered Star. If my family wasn't in the hands of the New Party, I would have confessed my identity to you a long time ago. On one side, they are threatening the lives of my parents and sister, and on the other side, there are my comrades who fought and died together. I can only charge to the most dangerous place in every battle, hoping to die on the battlefield one day, so as not to disappoint His Highness and protect my family."

"In the end, I never died. Captain Evan probably had the same idea, which is why he rushed forward alone to fight against two fourth-generation titans yesterday. When he threw all these messes at me, he was spitting blood and laughing at the same time. He said he would escape first, but I was still young, and asked me to hold on for a while, and then escape if I couldn't bear it anymore."

"But after hearing these things, I know I must tell you immediately." Lucius raised his head. Every scout has a pair of good eyes. His eyes were big and bright, but at this moment they were full of tears.

"Your Highness, I can't take it anymore. I really can't take it anymore. You always say that military situation is urgent. Captain Evan has delayed these matters for days. I hesitated for another day before reporting. I don't know how serious the consequences will be. I only ask you to grant me death, or at least put me in the death squad, let me die in the Arctic ice field like an upright soldier, so that when my family and others talk about me, they can also say that I am a hero who died for my country, okay?"

"That's enough—" Lucia growled.

Lucius's voice stopped abruptly, but His Highness did not reprimand him. Instead, he stood up with his injured body and came closer. He gently pressed his pale hand on his shoulder and said, "I mean, what you have done is enough."

"The confrontation between Rodel and the Giant King's Court on the Lord front will soon end, and the new party's channel to contact you will also be cut off. Pretend to be dead to the outside world. After I go back, I will arrange for people to rescue your family. From now on, you can stay here with peace of mind and do everything a soldier should do, including staying alive! Do you understand?"

Lucius was stunned for a while, then he prostrated himself on the ground and kowtowed deeply.

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)