Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 431 Current Situation
In the southwest of the Arctic Ice Field, the city of Sekhvenya.

The population of the former seat of the Earldom of Neron once exceeded 150,000, which was a large scale in any border area, and it was undoubtedly a large city in the north. However, after many rounds of war, Sekhvenya had already become a dilapidated and ruined place. Only the towering ruins of the city wall still recorded some of its past glory.

Three days ago, the First Legion of the Royal Court stationed here. The giants used blazing flames to melt the broken bricks and tiles piled up in the center of the city, rebuilt a temporary palace on the ruins, and erected royal flags like a forest around the city.

For a moment, ruin and prosperity, civilization and barbarism, destruction and creation... countless sets of opposing elements formed a brief fusion on this scorched earth. If a traveler passed by here, he would surely be confused by this chaos.

No one can predict where the North will go in the future. Perhaps even the protagonists in it, the two young and powerful kings can only trudge forward with a certain vision, struggling in the torrent of troubled times.

In the former Earl's Mansion, now the King's Palace, Marshal Leoponis lowered his head and walked quickly through the dark corridor. He stopped in front of a quiet room without doors or windows, knelt on one knee and said, "Your Majesty, the latest round of intelligence from the front has arrived."

"As you expected, Lucia's troops, who were originally resting on the southern front, did not retreat east or west, but marched south quickly, and raided Lord Vikia's troops of the Southern Regiment three times. However, the enemy's southward movement was too fast, even faster than the messengers we sent out several days in advance. The three raids covered a wide area, and the Southern Regiment was unable to react in time, suffering heavy losses."

"Lord Vikia has already withdrawn his troops to defend Lord Fortress. However, if Lucia chooses to lead his army across the Holy Snow Mountain, I am afraid we will no longer be able to stop him from returning to Asia. Should we let the Southern Regiment take the initiative to fight first? Even if the losses are greater, it doesn't matter. At least we can delay Lucia's pace first."

"No." In the quiet room, came the low and hoarse voice of Kalelius.

"The battle situation on the front line is ever-changing. Rather than relying on delayed intelligence to make decisions in the rear, we should trust the judgment of the commander in the front. Besides, Lord Vikia has always been trustworthy."

"But your majesty..." the old marshal said with a puzzled look, "It is well known that Lucia's troops are elite. The Holy Snow Mountain may be an insurmountable natural barrier for a large army, but not for him. Letting the Southern War Group shrink its defense line at this time may reduce some casualties, but as long as Lucia is determined to leave, we will definitely not be able to stop him. If we let him go back to the mountains, I am afraid that we will never have such a good opportunity again in the future."

Kalerius chuckled and said, "The fire is in the backyard, so he must be eager to go home. For the royal court, it is not important whether Lucia can be killed now. The important thing is to drive him away and buy enough time for us to digest the northern border. After meeting the Son of God in the Holy Land last time, the high priest had a private conversation with me - this is also what he meant."

Leoponis' pupils shrank. He was silent for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "It may not matter much to the royal court, but to your majesty, the head of the new dragon king is enough to make those who harbor delusions give up their fantasies."

The old marshal raised his head, his overly excited mood made his old face look somewhat hideous.

"To put it more bluntly, Gulag is about the same age as me, but he is a rotten, stinking pool of water. He ignores the changing times and even today he is still using Saint Helenmur's bloodline to pursue his fantasy of reviving the Ancient Royal Court. Is his heart as blind as his eyes, unable to see that the Son of God is of little use?!"

"He was wrong to leave his post and go south last time. How dare he interfere in the military operations of His Majesty? He is simply afraid that His Majesty will really kill Lucia Sanx, which will make the whole royal court completely loyal to him. Then the matter of deposing the Holy Son will no longer be suppressed. Not only will he not be able to become Gulan Sanx, but he will also become a sinner in the eyes of those old guys in the Holy Land!"

After a hearty scolding, Leoponius was so angry that his face turned pale and he was gasping for breath.

However, Kalerius' voice was still lukewarm, and he smiled and said, "I am really ashamed to have such support from the old marshal. However, the king and Lord Vigia have already made a plan for the southern front. The old marshal has been exhausted from the recent battles, so you should rest for a few days and wait for news."

"Lord Vigia," Leoponis was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened suddenly, "You mean--" "I understand, old minister!" Without any reminder from Kalelius, the old marshal kowtowed excitedly, apologized for his rudeness just now, and quickly got up and left.

No wonder His Majesty is so protective of Lord Vikia. The latter's position should be self-evident. His identity as the only disciple of the high priest is enough to explain everything.

But according to the information just revealed by His Majesty, the Fifth Ancestor, who is famous for his wisdom in the New Royal Court, has actually stood on their side so early?
What is the current situation? No matter how cunning the Gulag is, it will inevitably end up being deserted by its friends and relatives.

As long as everyone is given some more time, until His Majesty kills the new Dragon King with his own hands, until they see clearly the greedy and incompetent face of the Holy Son Edmur, both the enterprising young people and the conservative old people will have to accept the rule of the new king with the utmost respect.

This is the destined future of the giants.

Listening to the old marshal's brisk footsteps walking away, in the quiet room, Calelius smiled lightly, but when he exhaled, his wound was hurt and he couldn't help but gasp.

The reason why he chose such a dark room was to avoid showing his appearance in front of others and causing unnecessary trouble - especially when his throne was not stable.

An invisible sword with black and red colors pierced deeply into his heart, and the cold black flames burned his body mercilessly. Large pieces of flesh and blood lost their vitality, just like a painting that has lost its color and turned into a black and white draft. If it weren't for the endless vitality gushing out from his limbs, the law of death would have been enough to turn him into ashes in just a breath of time.

The battle between life and death lasted for so long that the invisible sword had gradually dimmed, but even the sword shadow with less than one-third of its remaining power had caused him great suffering.

Calelius couldn't help but recall his shock when he heard about the fight between Lucia and Mocero a few days ago. His first reaction was that Lucia's injuries were much lighter than his own, but when the details of the battle report came, and after calm thinking, he soon realized that the guy was just holding on despite his injuries.

Although the Third Ancestor is powerful, his strongest point is not himself. Lucia suddenly attacked, but he had to attack together with three high-level heroes under his command, and he let Mocero escape, which shows that he is strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

The good news is that in this way, Lucia's recovery speed will obviously be slower than hers.

The bad news is that although he was seriously injured, he was not afraid to show it in front of his subordinates. Lucia's control over the Northern Expedition Army and the deep foundation accumulated by the Ancient Dragon Dynasty behind him are so powerful that it makes people jealous.

But you don’t have to wait too long.
Radagon’s betrayal deprived Lucia of strategic options, and if he were to go a step further, the Southern Expedition Army’s tactical space would also be destroyed.

That dragon has been stirring up trouble in the Arctic ice field for too long. It's time to put an end to it all.

(End of this chapter)