Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 498 You Owe Me
"Judging by the time, your intelligence should have arrived by now." Katpera gently closed the lid of the cup, and his figure silently vanished into the void.

At the same time, hurried footsteps could be heard outside.

"Your Majesty, Ottina has sent an urgent report—"

The divine seal at the entrance did not originate from the Ottina forward command post, but directly from Oreg, the supreme commander on the western front. Regardless of what was written in the message, this alone is enough to demonstrate the urgency of the situation.

"His Majesty King Lucia Sanx respectfully requests—"

"As ordered, I arrived in Ottina on the 18th of last month and completed the initial construction of the southwestern defense line by the 9th of this month. At the same time, I selected the elite troops and formed 40 squads of 50 men each to disperse into the Sacred Tree Forest to monitor the unusual activities of the Giants' Court and investigate the movements of the Northern Garrison and the remnants of the Flame Sanctuary."

"On the 14th of this month, our army detected the sounds of battle near the 9th temporary outpost in the southern part of the forest. By the time the rangers arrived, the combatants had already retreated. Judging from the traces of the battle, it is suspected that six to eight hero-level targets fought briefly here. The residual power fluctuations in the air all belong to the fire giants. However, apart from the damaged surface environment and the remaining scent, no bloodstains or giant body tissues were found on the battlefield."

"At nightfall, our troops discovered signs of activity by royal scouts near the 11th temporary outpost at the southernmost point of the forest. Around 3:00 a.m., they encountered them and engaged in a brief battle. After our troops repelled a small group of enemy scouts, they temporarily withdrew and continued to maintain covert surveillance of the southern section of the forest."

"On the morning of the 19th, a force of 10,000 from the Royal Court was discovered advancing into the Nameless Plain, with its vanguard already reaching the southern edge of the forest. That morning, fluctuations in the enemy's main force were detected, and based on intelligence, it was determined that they should be the Royal Court's newly appointed Fourth Ancestor, Ophelia, and Sixth Ancestor, Yuno."

"The former's identity is currently in doubt and awaits further judgment from His Majesty. The latter is suspected to be the third Archbishop of Flame who defected from the former Flame Sanctuary. He once served as the Supreme Commander of the Watchers and was the superior of the Watchers' leader, Aganti. Preliminary speculation is that Yuno joined the Giants' Court at the beginning of the Northern War, and was crowned the new progenitor after Charelius annihilated the Elders of the Giants, inheriting the forbidden spell ability 'Aberrant Flesh' from the original tenth progenitor, Adonis."

"Our army immediately activated the defense plan and prepared to meet the enemy. However, the enemy seemed to have no intention of moving north. Instead, they lingered in the southern part of the forest and kept sending out small groups of troops to search around."

"On the night of the 21st, our army launched a surprise attack on one of the search teams, and interrogated the seven captured fourth-generation Titans separately. We forcibly deciphered their memories using soul magic, and then pieced together the memory fragments we obtained. We learned that the enemy's search target was the two first-generation Titans, Steinbeck and Marion, who went missing on the 14th. Their location of disappearance roughly matched the strange battlefield that our army discovered that day."

"Therefore, I dare to deduce that a third force, independent of our army and the Giant King's Court, is lurking in the uninhabited area spanning six hundred kilometers in the central part of the Sacred Tree Forest. However, three points remain in doubt—"

"1. Our army has traversed the Sacred Tree Forest on multiple large scales and launched several rounds of search and rescue operations against the naval base and the remnants of the Holy Temple using scouts. Why was there no trace of them before the 14th? 2. If this force is the remnants of the naval base or surviving monks of the Holy Temple, their remaining strength must be extremely limited, making it almost impossible for them to kill two first-generation giants in a short period of time. 3. There are only residual forces of the giant faction near the battlefield of the 9th temporary outpost. Excluding the possibility of infighting among the giants, how exactly did this force steal the power of the giants?"

"Currently, our army and the enemy are roughly facing each other across the central line of the forest. The opportunity to break the enemy has not yet appeared. This matter is shrouded in mystery, and I dare not make a decision rashly. Therefore, I humbly request Your Majesty to make a decision."

Lucia hesitated for a moment, about to pick up his pen to issue an order, when he suddenly glanced at the location where Katpela had disappeared into the void. He then wrote the order "Suspend the investigation and maintain vigilance" on the letter and summoned his personal guards to immediately send it to the western front.

"So, you mean you want me to go to the forest with you?" He looked at the empty room and said calmly.

In the void, Katopella's figure solidified once more. Through the dark, night-like black silk, Lucia couldn't see the expression in her eyes, only a meaningful smile playing on her full lips. She said, "Aren't you curious why Ophelia and a recently promoted surrendered official were investigating this matter together?" "At first glance, anyone would think that Charlenius sent his most trusted confidant to test the latter's loyalty, but as the person involved, you should know that last time, in order to save you, the identity of 'Ophelia' was already suspected by the royal court, and even my plans were greatly affected."

She crossed her long legs, leaned back comfortably in her chair, took another sip of warm tea, gently placed the teacup back on the tray, and said, "I told you, this is what you owe me. Whether you repay it or not is up to you."

Lucia did not answer immediately, but instead asked, "Is Ophelia's body your true form?"

Katpera paused for a moment, then raised an eyebrow slightly. "What? If I told you that the person in front of you is the real me, what would you do?"

"Kill me to fill your memory battlefield? Or do you want to extract information from me that I can't possibly tell you?"

Her voice remained gentle as water, but Lucia keenly sensed the sudden chill, like the unpredictable monsoon winds of March in the Far East islands, which were as warm as spring a moment ago but turned into a chilling icy rain in an instant.

“Sometimes I really don’t understand where your inexplicable wariness comes from,” Lucia shrugged. “I’m just advising you not to underestimate Chareleus. He was a formidable enemy that you and I should take seriously, and after merging with that unknown power, he’s even more unpredictable.”

"If Ophelia is your true form, at least pay more attention. I can already sense that your strength is far from what it was in your prime. Chareleus will only pose a greater threat to you. Don't let your plan fail and your identity be exposed, leading to your death. With your lousy habit of switching clones everywhere, I won't even know where to go to pay my debts. Don't you think so?"

Katpera's ambiguous smile, tinged with a hint of coldness and mockery, suddenly froze. The two stared at each other for a full five seconds before Katpera smashed the teacup on the ground with a bang, then vanished with a flick of his robe.

"Get as far away from me as possible for the next three months. You are not allowed to set foot in the Sacred Tree Forest, or I will hunt you down to Fam Azra and kill you!"

The Queen of Death's furious voice gradually faded away. Sherry hopped over to Katpela's chair, sniffed it, looked up at the void where Katpela had disappeared, then turned to look at her master and muttered a few strange words.

"As expected of someone accustomed to being Her Majesty the Queen, there's no limit to how extravagant she is. Doesn't she know I'm short of supplies?" Lucia sighed, cleaning up the broken porcelain shards before turning to call her personal guards.

"Go and inform Borelius to activate Contingency Plan Three. He will be in charge of all affairs in the Lake District for the next three months. If in doubt, consult with Generals Neo and Rosalind. I am going to the Sacred Tree Forest."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)