Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 529 Erosion
Based on the knowledge the Gulag had taught him, and also out of his instinct as a king, Chareleus had done a great deal since the destruction of the Elders.

These included re-honoring the seven progenitors, reforming the royal military system, treating human prisoners of war well, and resetting the frontline deployment. Only after truly consolidating power did Charlegios realize that while the High Priest, the Holy Son, and the Council of Elders were hateful, they had also inadvertently shared a lot of the pressure from within the dynasty.

The giants at the bottom have a desire to move up, the third and second generation species in the middle crave greater power, and the first generation and progenitors at the top have reached the end of their path to power, and have developed an endless greed for power and profit.
As the source of all the giants' power and interests, the power of the furnace ley lines behind that forbidden door is not inexhaustible.

Limited resources must be used to maintain the Jedi Seal, supply the Progenitors to ensure their rapid recovery after defeats and injuries, maintain their top-tier heroic strength, and allocate a significant portion to the best among the middle and lower ranks. This ensures that valiant warriors are rewarded and that the royal court's blood flows continuously, preventing it from decaying and degenerating.
The council of elders once played the role of such a distributor of benefits. They were greedy, foolish, and unfair, but they bridged the contradictions between various factions in the turbulent early years of the royal court and stabilized the base of support in the rear when he led the progenitor to conquer foreign lands.

Now that the High Priest is dead and the Council of Elders has been destroyed, he has to clean up the mess from scratch. But he can hardly find anyone he can truly rely on and trust.

Of the seven surviving progenitors, Amotia remained by his side even in his most desperate moments, and even risked her life to confront the elders. Her loyalty goes without saying, but she was ultimately less intelligent. Although she was more than capable of serving as a brave general charging into battle or as a personal guard for the king, she was far from sufficient to be his right-hand man in his reforms.

Moving down the list, Vikya is a good candidate, but he must be stationed at the Lord's Fortress, especially given the current predicament of the royal court, which is beset by internal and external troubles and is in turmoil. With Lucia and the Northern Expeditionary Army in the rear becoming major threats, the Lord's Fortress in the front cannot afford any mishaps.

Of the other five, Marshal Rexar was mature and prudent, but in his heart, the weight of his soldiers was greater than that of the rise and fall of the royal court. As for Hilbel and Moselo—thinking of them, a hint of disgust could not be concealed between Charlegios' handsome brows.

The former was cruel and perverted, and the latter was fierce and stupid. Of course, the quality of their character is not enough to determine whether to give them important positions. However, at the end of the last great war, Hilbel's abilities were severely suppressed and he almost died at the hands of the heroes of the Northern Expedition. Moselo was even beaten so badly that he fled in panic, abandoning his comrades and running away alone. How could such trash be of great use?

The last two remaining were Ophelia, whom he had once trusted most, and Yuno, a human who had recently surrendered. He had recently sent them to investigate the fall of the two first generation members in the Sacred Tree Forest, ostensibly to test their abilities and loyalty, but Charlegios had a deeper purpose in mind.

Last time, Lucia led several thousand remnants of his army to break through the last line of defense set up by Ophelia and the Sixth Legion at the end of the Kurbandea Road, causing the encirclement plan to fail. This incident caused a great uproar within the royal court.

First, Moselo, along with several of the original leaders, launched an attack at the court assembly, accusing Ophelia of being the culprit behind the royal court's defeat. Then, Marshal Rexxar questioned the Sixth Legion's casualties, suggesting they were far lower than other legions, thus proving Ophelia's passive avoidance of battle. Finally, even Hilbel, who was on good terms with Ophelia, proposed suspending her command of an army until a thorough investigation was conducted before reappointing her.

If Charlemagne were to act from his heart, he would still have considerable trust in Ophelia. When the royal court was established, the high priests and the ancestors had debated endlessly about whether to recommend him as the temporary successor to the throne. It was Ophelia who overruled all objections and silenced all dissenting voices with the statement, "What difference is there between a royal court without a king and a rebel army?"

In other words, Ophelia and her tens of thousands of troops were actually his original core group as the King of Giants.

He had expected Ophelia to say a few words in her defense, which would allow him to smoothly quell the storm. Unexpectedly, Ophelia, as the protagonist, acted as if it were none of her business, sitting high in her seat and coldly watching the other progenitors launch a frenzied attack on her, seemingly not even interested in uttering a word in response.

Finally, it was Amotia who stepped forward, pointing her finger at the other progenitors and berating them for leading hundreds of thousands of troops only to be routed, and for having the audacity to criticize Ophelia and the Sixth Legion of Lucia, who were fighting alone. She called them utterly shameless. After another big argument, the matter was temporarily dropped.

However, after this incident, although Ophelia retained her position as the progenitor and command of the legion, in order to quell the anger of other factions in the court, Chareleus had no choice but to test her and hand over the case of the Sacred Tree Forest to Ophelia and Yuno.

If the case is thoroughly investigated and beyond dispute, and if, during the process, neither of these two individuals, whose positions and interests are almost diametrically opposed, can find fault with the other, that will be sufficient to prove their loyalty to the other progenitors. Ophelia can then return to the central government, and Yuno can shed the stain of being a human vassal, paving the way for his future development in the royal court.

crackle.

The candle behind him burned to its end, making a crisp sound as the wick melted.

Charlegios turned his head and looked back; half of his majestic face was obscured by shadow, and his expression disappeared into the darkness, no longer clearly visible.

He had considered making Ophelia his queen after seizing power, and he imagined that the two of them could create a glorious legacy no less than that of the Dragon King Platons and the Dragon God Horaryus.

So he entrusted her with the last line of defense, but she allowed his greatest enemy to escape without even offering an explanation afterward.

The trust of a king is the most precious gift, a gift that is rare and valuable, yet cannot be refused, much less betrayed.

He felt the rough texture of sand and gravel rubbing against his palm. In a daze, he raised his hand and realized that he had unknowingly made a deep palm print on the marble railing at the edge of the palace.

The shattered stone dust cascaded down, silently disappearing into the darkness beneath his feet, as if dragging his heart deeper and deeper.

"Your Majesty, Marshal Gran Celia requests an audience."

The guard's voice was like a morning bell in the thick fog, abruptly waking Charlegios from his daze.

"Gran Celia?"

He paused for a moment, then remembered the human general who wore an iron mask, always followed Yuno, and was the first to surrender to him after the last coup.

In order to win over Yuno and other humans who had surrendered, and also to set an example for future generations, he appointed her as the Marshal of the Royal Guard after seizing power, overseeing all defense matters of the Starfall Temple and the Giant's Holy Land.

Charlegios tapped his knuckles lightly on the broken railing, his gaze sweeping over the handprint from before, then glancing at the pile of stone dust on the ground. In a voice that even he found unfamiliar, he said, "Let her in."

(End of this chapter)