Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 506 Look at your performance
Katpera tilted her head slightly, seemingly glancing at Lucia, and without saying much, walked to the soft carpet, straightened her skirt, and sat down with her back against the boulder.

Lucia glanced at the Queen casually. Perhaps because this was a secret operation and it was inconvenient to be conspicuous, Katepera did not wear her usual signature divine leather robe, but instead wore a black dress. Combined with the black silk covering her eyes and her long, jet-black hair, she looked like an alluring elf walking in the dark night.

"May I ask why Your Majesty always wears this black silk?" Lucia added a few dry branches to the campfire and said in a relaxed tone, "Even if we abandon sight, there are always things that cannot be grasped by the mind. When facing a powerful enemy, the difference between these two lines can be life and death."

"I'm blind, haven't you heard?" Katpera's tone was more casual than Lucia's, as if he were talking about something that had nothing to do with him.

Lucia paused for a moment, then bowed her head and apologized, "I was just asking casually, and I didn't mean to touch on His Majesty's painful memories. Please forgive me for any offense."

“What’s there to forgive?” Katarina said casually. “There are very few beings who have experienced the final stage of the War of the Gods, and even fewer who survived. It’s normal that you were born later and don’t know about it.”

"History records that Queen Katopera, the Queen of Death, and her henchmen, the Apostles of the Godskin, slaughtered countless gods, their crimes too numerous to mention. Ultimately, they were defeated by the Eternal Queen and the Shadow Beast Maricus, and their destined death was sealed away—"

She extended a jade-like finger and gently tapped a corner of the black silk, smiling as she said, "These eyes harbor the runes of death, which were stolen during that battle. I reckon one is in Marika's hands, and the other is in Black Sword's. How about it? Don't you feel they deserve what they got?"

After she finished speaking, she silently observed Lucia's expression, as if hoping to see some surprise or shock on his face. However, after waiting for a long time, all she could hear was the crackling sound of the campfire burning dry wood.

She shook her head, gave a silent, self-deprecating smile, and wasn't planning to say anything more, but then she heard Lucia ask a question—

"Does it still hurt?"

".What?"

Before Lucia could answer, a strange look appeared on Katpera's bright, moon-like face, and she chuckled softly, "What's so painful about this old wound that's been there for so many years?"

Having said that, she didn't want to discuss the topic any further. She patted her skirt and prepared to get up, saying, "Two pheasants aren't enough for the three of us. I'll go out and hunt some more game—"

“You and Sherry rest here, I’ll go.” Lucia stood up first, grabbed her cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders, and walked into the snowstorm without saying another word.

Sherry raised her little head to look in the direction her master had left, then looked at the Queen of Death whose fingers were frozen at the edge of her skirt, seemingly adrift. She shook her frosty fur and, as if afraid of the cold, leaped into the Queen's arms, even licking the back of her hand familiarly.

Katpera stood there stunned for a while, her tense body relaxing slightly. She hugged the little fox in her arms and gently stroked it from head to tail, making Sherry close her eyes and purr comfortably.

Lost in thought, her free hand slowly reached towards her cheek, lightly touching the side of the black silk covering her eyes, then released it as if electrocuted, quickly withdrawing it.

A jumble of thoughts flashed through her mind, and long-buried memories resurfaced. Even Katpera herself couldn't figure out what she was thinking.

She only remembered that a hundred years ago, anyone, whether god or mortal, who dared to mention those eyes, would have been annihilated by her—even Omega, with whom she had once cooperated, would never dare to cross that line. But everyone's focus was on whether those eyes could be restored to their former state, and whether the return of that forbidden law would shake their order in dividing this world. Who would be foolish enough to care whether she was in pain?

It is said that the Dragon King and the Dragon God gave birth to the Supreme Egg earlier than she was born, but now it seems that the dragon has been developing in the eggshell for thousands of years, and has not developed any intelligence at all. As for the so-called new king of the dragon race and a regional overlord, he is just a childish little kid.

Footsteps approached from afar, and Lucia returned, leading the dragon-scaled horse that had been released earlier.

The ancient Dragon Dynasty has had the technology to transplant part of the dragon bloodline into warhorses since ancient times. After many generations of improvement, the Dragonscale Horse, which is superior to all other warhorses in the world today, was born. Among them, the rare and exotic beasts that can be chosen as Lucia's mount are naturally one in a million.

The dragon-scaled horse before them was taller than an average person's head, with eyes like stars, hooves like hard iron, and mouths full of cold, sharp teeth like flying dragons. With each breath, one could vaguely see pale white flames swirling around it, and there were even two dragon horns about a foot long on its forehead.

At this moment, it had a robust wild deer in its mouth, and several prey were slung across its broad back, wide enough for three people to ride side by side. When Lucia reached the campfire, she patted the horse's neck, and the dragon-scaled horse dropped the wild deer, nuzzled its master's shoulder, and ran off to the distant forest to eat.

"Your horse eats meat?" Katpera casually changed the subject, her voice filled with surprise. "Does it have a name?"

"It's called 'Frostflame.' Two generations back, it's a brother to Rataen's 'Rio,' but it's much more reliable. Whether it's a short burst of speed or a long-distance raid, its speed is comparable to that of a high-ranking wyvern, with only a slight disadvantage in terms of land travel. This time, I plan to ride my horse all the way to the eastern part of Ottina before switching to foot and sneaking into the Sacred Tree Forest to avoid being discovered."

"Yes, we should be careful. Yuno, who is now in charge of the western front, is no ordinary person. As a surrendered general, he was placed above Moselo in the seating arrangement from the very beginning. Moselo was naturally dissatisfied after returning to the royal court. The two probably had a fight in secret. Afterwards, Moselo became much more obedient and never mentioned the unfair seating arrangement again."

"Is that so?" Lucia drew his short sword and began preparing the venison, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Although the mutant flesh is stronger in direct combat than the Immortal Curse, Yuno has only mastered the forbidden spell for at most two months, and he is not of giant blood. It is indeed remarkable that he was able to defeat Mosero."

“What I’m really worried about isn’t his strength—” Katpela shook her head, “Kaleilius sent both of us to the Sacred Tree Forest, clearly to test our loyalty. Yuno has just been crowned the progenitor, and if he wanted to show his loyalty, he should have acted willingly and fearfully. But along the way, he deliberately showed his dissatisfaction in front of me several times, acting as if he resented the royal court and was overly suspicious, all to test my attitude. I can’t tell for the time being whether he has Chareleus’s instructions behind the scenes or if he has other plans. In any case, it’s best to be more careful.”

"If you don't want to think about it too much, how about we have General Oreg lead his troops west out of the Sacred Tree Forest, and I'll personally take action and kill him?"

Through the black silk, Carterpera seemed to glance at Lucia sideways and said, "It's convenient for you, but for me, Ophelia's identity is useless, isn't it? Two ancestors whose loyalty is questionable are stationed together on the western front investigating the case. If you suddenly appear and kill one of them, doesn't that confirm that I am the mole?"

Lucia, naturally aware of the implications, put down the venison she had prepared, looked at Katpela seriously, and said, "What exactly are you plotting using the identity of Ophelia? Can you tell me now?"

"Tch—what's the use of telling you? Will you drop everything else to help me?" Carterpella grabbed the roasted chicken, tore off a piece, and held it to the little fox's mouth. The fox swallowed it in one gulp, spitting out a yelp from the heat.

Lucia frowned, about to say something, when Katpera interrupted, "I'm hungry. I just want to eat, not talk business. I'll tell you the details later, depending on your performance on the way."

(End of this chapter)