Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 509 Volcano
"We've been walking for so long, and the scenery hasn't changed at all!" Monger wiped the sweat from his forehead and grumbled, "When will this ever end?"

"Silence!" Mongert sat upright on the back of a large wolf, his expression stern. "If you, as the commander of an army, cannot set a good example and behave frivolously, your soldiers will naturally follow suit. In the future, when you go out to lead an army on your own, you must be even more careful."

"I," Munger felt that no matter what I did, my brother would find a flaw and torture me. But looking back at the guards around me who had been complaining just moments before but were now terrified and stopped talking, I realized that they were right and could only sigh in frustration.

Back in the Far East, the two brothers were always under the command of Priest Lance. But after spending more time with Priest Fur this time, Mung felt an instant connection, as if they had known each other for a long time.

They share the same extraordinary talent, the same arrogant personality, the same domineering older brother and sister, the same family background that has been tormented, and the same life trajectory of trying to resist, failing to resist, and finally silently accepting their fate and becoming punching bags.

"If only I could be on the same side as Priest Fol this time, sigh—"

Monger sighed inwardly, but dared not show it on his dark face. He simply adopted a serious posture, as if he had been enlightened and deeply reflected on his actions after being instructed by his brother.

With the combined efforts of both Longyue and Longyue, the strategic plan to launch the Northern Expedition against the volcano was rapidly implemented in less than half a month. The Ancient Dragon Dynasty transferred two thousand dragon warriors and four thousand storm knights from the Far East, along with six thousand hybrid warriors, to serve as the main force. These were all elites selected from the best of their respective legions. In addition, there were mages, magical mechanics, battlefield medics, and other personnel from nearby Kalia who provided support, bringing the total to more than 15,000. They marched north along the Sunset Pass, serving as the visible Sword's Edge into the heart of North Gmir.

This main force comprised most of the high-end combat power that the two dynasties could deploy on the western front, including the commander of the Ancient Dragon faction, Fulsanx, the commander of the Kalia faction, "Twin Moon" Laerana, and Ingwell, the former right wing of the Storm King who set out as the vanguard. Its strength was enough to make all the forces, large and small, in the entire Gomir Wasteland take notice.

Faced with such a lineup, even if the volcanic serpent truly possessed the legendary strength second only to the Dragon God and the Flame God, it would have to weigh its own strength and that of the Serpent God Cult.

After all, "gods" and "deities" seem to differ by only one word, but the former relies on the divine status bestowed by faith for most of their combat power, unlike the latter, who can truly transcend the world when they are in full strength. Even the Dragon God and the Flame God, who are among the pinnacle of deities, are no exception.

No matter how powerful the volcanic serpent is, as long as it remains within the realm of gods, it is subject to the constraints of faith.

Given the sheer size of the Serpent God Cult, even if the entire population of the North Gmir region were included, it wouldn't be enough to provide it with divine power comparable to the Eternal Queen. Faced with the all-out offensive from the top echelon of the two dynasties below the monarch level, it still had to back down.

So, starting in late May, as the army crossed the Boiling River defense line and marched northwest, wherever they went, bandits, outlaws, mountain demons, exiled tribes, and mixed-race demi-human settlements all surrendered at the mere sight of them. The speed at which they expanded their territory was almost the same as their marching speed.

Of course, this was already in Karen's budget before the war began.

Although the Gmir region is not as vast as other continents, it still covers an area of ​​over 8,000 li, making it a whole circle larger than the Weeping Peninsula, which is also a remote and uncivilized area. Although the area around the volcano is the core of northern Gmir, its influence is now limited to the northwest corner.

Five years ago, when the entire Gomir region was a desolate and neglected wilderness, not only northern Gomir but also the area south of the Boiling River all the way to Karen was fertile ground for the Serpent God Cult. Unable to survive, barbarian tribes had two options: either join the Golden Dynasty to participate in bloody gladiatorial combats for amusement, or serve as slave laborers, contributing to the Golden Age until their last drop of sweat and blood; or they simply joined the Serpent God Cult and carried out their rebellion to the bitter end. When dozens of tribes, large and small, from southern Gomir joined forces to raid Karen, it was because the then-High Priest of the Union, Krug, refused to simply bow down and become a pawn of the cult, choosing instead to lead his people south in a risky gamble. The final outcome is self-evident.

However, after the Ancient Dragon Dynasty took over Karen, Clive spent four years painstakingly managing the situation, not only settling tens of thousands of people in South Gmir properly, but also gradually extending its influence north of the Boiling River.

Even though the surrounding barbarians had not yet immediately submitted to the king, they had heard some of the reputation of the Ancient Dragon Dynasty for treating them, who were not allowed to follow the Golden Law, well. In the end, apart from those mutants who had lost their minds and turned into beasts, and the fanatics who wanted to kill all heretics indiscriminately, what kind of "barbarians" did they not want to live a peaceful life but only wanted to eat raw meat and drink blood?
Previously, there was no choice, but now the Ancient Dragon Dynasty has offered a sufficiently sincere option over four years. Even the most foolish and reckless have begun to adopt a wait-and-see attitude, while the more astute ones are already secretly sewing Ancient Dragon King flags at home. Now that the army is pressing in, even the few die-hards have lost the confidence to resist to the end. Offering food and drink to welcome the royal army is the only reasonable course of action.

However, on a macro level, these surrendered Gemir tribes are currently insignificant pawns. Both Longyue and Golden Tree know that the real battleground is in the heart of the volcano. If they cannot take this dragon's den that occupies a quarter of Gemir's territory, the northwest, which is surrounded by enemies on all sides, will ultimately be nothing more than a chicken rib that is easy to attack but difficult to defend, and will not have any key impact on the overall situation.

Long Yue's idea was clear from the beginning: to drag the giant snake out of its den and break its vital point. However, this was only an internal consensus among the higher-ups, and they wouldn't publicize it before the actual fighting even started.

With nearly half of the main force of the Golden Army tied up in the Hoslau Islands, and Radagan himself forced to stay at the Dydas defense line, he was stretched thin and unable to intervene militarily. Naturally, he was thinking of recruiting the Serpent God Cult and instigating them to fight Longyue to the death.

Both sides were well aware of this. When the heroes on Karen's side met, they speculated that the envoy had likely begun infiltrating the volcano long before the conflict between them broke down.

Given that Longyue's offer is far less generous than Golden Tree's, and they are even unwilling to offer any at all, it is impossible to compete with the secret envoy in terms of the pace of the surrender. Therefore, the correct solution is to send another elite force to launch a surprise attack on Wofu in addition to the main force, and to strike and defeat the enemy while the Snake Worshiping Cult is still waiting for a better price.

The eight thousand evil omen led by Mongot and Mongo played this role. For ten days, the Night Knights did not take the main road or display their banners. Instead, they traversed mountains and valleys in the already wild and treacherous wilderness of Gemir. Relying on the extraordinary physical strength and combat skills of the evil omen, they not only did not fall behind the main force, but also managed to exceed the journey by three days.

After Munger complained, he walked for another half a day before the scenery on the horizon finally changed.

The overgrown reddish-brown land was replaced by continuous stretches of obsidian, and the limited hills were transformed into sheer cliffs and precipitous peaks. The vaguely visible mountain shadow among the northwestern mountains finally revealed its enormous and ferocious face, with several fang-like peaks piercing the sky, like the mouth of a terrifying serpent that would devour the sky and the sun. Under the firelight, even the originally open and spacious sky of Gemir seemed much more oppressive.

Mongot narrowed his eyes slightly and pondered, "Occupying such a dangerous place, it's no wonder that the Serpent God Cult has been able to wreak havoc since the Resurrection Era. If it weren't for today's battle, they could probably have continued to roam for hundreds more years."

“Too bad we’ve come—” Monger also put aside his usual superficial cynicism, grinned and revealed a chilling murderous intent, “What dares to call itself a god? I’d like to taste how much more delicious this snake meat is than lobster meat.”

(End of this chapter)