Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 539 Sweet Dream
“Yuno doesn’t know that before I followed the War King on his northern expedition, I studied as a court perfumer in Rodel,” Hiren said with a smile that was hard to tell whether it was bitter or cruel. He pointed to his eyes and nose and said, “Although I’m getting older every year and I’m not as good at fighting as the young people, I haven’t lost this skill.”

"Does Your Majesty know what position he held in the Ministry of Justice before becoming the head of the Watchers?"

Lucia didn't know, but the answer wasn't hard to guess. After a moment's thought, he replied, "Given his age at the time, his combat skills and methods suggest he was an interrogator, right?"

A glint of light flashed in Hiren's eyes. For a moment, his mental exhilaration seemed to overwhelm his physical pain, and he nodded emphatically, saying, "Exactly!"

"The Ministry of Justice of the Dynasty has a deputy minister under the chief justice and seven judicial officers. When the chief justice is absent, all matters are decided by the deputy minister. When the deputy minister is absent, the seven judicial officers vote to decide. Below the judicial officers are twelve interrogators, who are responsible for catching thieves and criminals and for interrogating them by torture. Each of them is as firm as iron and as ruthless as a knife."

“Since the establishment of the Ministry of Justice, at least half of the interrogators have gone to the Golden Bough Hall, the residence of the perfumers, to learn every year. But they don’t learn any skills to heal the sick and save lives. Instead, they learn how to penetrate the minds of prisoners, corrupt their souls, and ensure that they never die easily when necessary. Ha, do you remember the emblem of the Ministry of Justice? A sword hanging upside down in the center of the scales. They are not the sharpest edge of that sword, but the deadly poison that has been dipped into that edge!”

"Over the years, Yuno used his interrogation methods to dig out countless pieces of intelligence from various rebel remnants. This intelligence helped us to quell the rebellion and restore peace to the people, which can be described as making great contributions. But when he turned around and used this knowledge and methods on his own people, it became the 'asthma treatment' bottle on Pirac's chest."

A torrent of angry words poured out of him as Xilun gasped for breath, his cloudy eyes filled with bloodshot veins, like flashes of red lightning in the depths of a fog. Anyone who saw him at that moment could sense the bone-chilling hatred emanating from him.

"He poisoned him! That bastard, that beast, that ruthless scoundrel! Perhaps while I was investigating the Slovenian case, or perhaps even earlier, his poison was colorless, odorless, and intangible, yet it could subtly alter a person's thoughts and consciousness. If I hadn't also studied perfumery in depth, if I hadn't frantically chipped away at that molten slag that day, trying to find a trace of Pirac's last remaining existence, I would never have discovered his oversight!"

"According to the records of the Golden Bough Hall, the secret incense called 'Sweet Dream' should have been sealed away and shelved long ago after the end of the unification war. But Yuno is indeed a genius, ah, a true genius! Based on those vague records, he was able to make a replica with exactly the same effect through repeated experiments!"

"But his rank in the perfumer system wasn't as high as mine back then, and he probably hadn't had access to the most secret information, so he overlooked the only possible clue that could be found in 'Sweet Dream'—'Under the raging fire, the sweet dream will reveal its true face amidst the burning pain.' Haha, he didn't know that once the residual components of that fragrance chelate with human tissue at high temperatures, it will leave behind a unique dark blue residue, which is wrapped inside that molten slag!"

"But by the time I discovered all this, it was too late," Xilun murmured, the fleeting glint of light in his eyes fading away.

Olivia suddenly realized and exclaimed in surprise, "So that's why you were the first to discover Yuno's signs of rebellion when the Sanctuary and the Naval Base met to go to the Frozen Lake for the tripartite talks?"

“You’re only wrong about one thing, child,” Hillen said, closing his eyes again. “I sorted everything out the night before, but I wasn’t sure how many of his accomplices were still in the upper echelons of the Holy Temple, so I planned to secretly gather my personal guards and strike first to take him down on the day of the meeting.”

"But I didn't expect that this time, he would still be faster and more ruthless than us."

Lucia turned her gaze to Olivia, and what happened next is something all the survivors of the Sanctuary know.

Olivia recalled the scene from that day with lingering fear, saying, "On September 23 last year, just two days before the final agreed tripartite meeting, the Holy Church team and the garrison guard led by Ossarion met up in Sekhvenia first."

"Ossarion's intention at the time was to communicate with the Holy Temple in advance and jointly exert pressure during negotiations to force the Samir clan to submit. Although this approach was utterly foolish from the perspective of the three great dynasties, Her Majesty the Queen's order to me at the time was simply to monitor the Holy Temple's movements and observe the situation."

"But shortly after nightfall on the 23rd, Osarion was still holding a grand banquet with the high-ranking members of the Holy Church, sitting in the main seat where Count Cames Nerlen had once sat, denouncing the atrocities of the Samir people, and declaring that he would make them hand over the murderers and give the Nerlen family, which had just been wiped out, justice. In the midst of the toasts and laughter, Yuno simply led his men and stormed in."

“We watched helplessly as he and his dozen or so bodyguards were engulfed in red flames and transformed into giants several meters tall. Almost at the same time, Lord Hiren’s guards stormed in, but our hastily organized resistance was utterly futile in the face of those giants with average next-generation combat strength.”

"Osarion, who claimed to possess the combat power of a 'peak hero,' was grabbed by the neck by Yuno in a single exchange and slammed to the ground like an insect, his life hanging in the balance. Lord Hilen attempted to burn his own life force to exchange with Yuno, but Yuno's unique high-level prayer, the 'Crimson Dragon Curse,' preemptively pierced his chest and abdomen. Fifth Seat Rodi and Seventh Seat Sif also died on the spot." "In the ensuing chaos, we had no choice but to break out on our own. It wasn't until the next morning, after the sky had brightened slightly, that I discovered the giants had sent two progenitors to support Yuno. That madwoman, Hilbel, chased me all the way to the Redel branch temple, where I briefly repelled her with the help of my apostles. After that, I heard that Osarion and Bishop Hilen had successfully broken out and were organizing a defense with the routed troops on the western front."

"Now His Majesty should know that this whole thing was a deception set up by Yuno and Ossarion, in order to gather the remnants of the Holy Temple and the Garrison, and then lure people into this barrier to test the unsealing array they set up with human lives."

Lucia frowned slightly and said, "General Neo of Sol City said that he also received a letter of appeal for help from Osarion. So it turns out that Osarion and Yuno colluded during this period to lure the soldiers they had gathered to risk their lives to break through the siege, thereby enticing Sol to send troops to support them. This would help the Giant Central Chapter break through the city quickly and attract more human test subjects?"

Olivia nodded and said, "That's right. However, General Neo did not act impulsively. Yuno and Ossarion soon broke into infighting again, and their plan finally failed. Instead, we seized the opportunity to find out the location where Lord Hilen was imprisoned. It wasn't until three days ago that we found an opportunity to break through the guards of Yuno's henchmen and rescue him."

Lucia took a deep breath, trying to suppress the rage in his heart.

After a long while, he said slowly, "I understand."

He hadn't felt this angry in a long time since the battle with that rebellious ancient dragon in the north of Dikedas a year ago. Hot dragon blood surged within him, converging into a violent dragon's might, which he forcibly suppressed, lingering in his chest.

Even if we take a step back, he can tolerate all the brutal methods between nations, ethnic groups, and civilizations. When the conflict deteriorates to the point of no return, it is nothing more than each side using all means to fight to the death. In the end, the survival of the strong and the decline of the weak is an inevitable trend that cannot be stopped.

But he could not tolerate, nor would he tolerate, such behavior—hiding behind one's own side, posing as a comrade, a fellow soldier, or even a fellow soldier to stab those around them in the back with the most despicable blade, using the blood of one's own people to seek advancement.

Judging from the complex barrier array blueprints that Yuno presented, he did not "suddenly" fall into depravity at some point, but rather from the moment he first set foot on the northern lands, he had always been practicing the path to godhood that he had designed for himself.

Countless people have tried and failed to attain divine status with their mortal bodies, probably because the vast majority of them simply do not understand the price that must be paid for such a "rebellious and presumptuous" act.

Now, however, he sees the closest he has ever come to success.

“Yuno will be leaving soon. I will have him send over the necessary supplies. Please take care of all the affairs of the camp and Bishop Hiron’s injuries, Bishop Olivia,” Lucia instructed. “As for Yuno himself and His Majesty’s plans, I will take care of them.”

After saying that, he looked at Xilun, who had fallen into a deep sleep due to exhaustion, tucked the blanket around the old man, and got up to walk out the door.

Before leaving, Lucia turned his face to the side, his back to Olivia, and whispered, "Don't worry, although the divine positions in this world are mediocre, even rotten and stinking, no one more vile person is qualified to sit on them—I have killed one, and I don't mind killing another at any time."

Olivia stared blankly at the departing figure for a long time before suddenly snapping back to reality.

She thought back to the days when she and the other apostles followed His Majesty to hunt down false gods. At this moment, she seemed to suddenly understand His Majesty's choice.

If there is anyone in the world who is worthy of His Majesty, it can only be this person, right?

(End of this chapter)