Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1829, Chapter 1801: The Royal City of Rodel

With Torisha's enthusiastic guidance, Lan En had little room to resist.

In fact, he himself was not too nervous about entering Rodel and meeting the other Faded Ones.

After all, although he was a newcomer, the powerful sense of order and discipline of this force, or rather the dynasty, which exuded golden characteristics everywhere, made him feel quite relaxed.

It evokes a long-lost feeling of 'living in a stable and civilized world.' It's similar to the first nineteen years of his life that he can never go back to, making him nostalgic.

The Yatan Plateau is flat and covered with bright yellow grassland. Several roads paved with stone slabs and lined with low walls on both sides stretch across the golden plain and into the distance.

This kind of proper and orderly road is also a manifestation of dominance and order.

For some reason, huge and unusual building ruins always appear on the flat land.

Lan En said it was abnormal because these huge wrecks were scattered and there was no trace of other buildings around them.

The size and shape of these fragments clearly indicate that they are pieces from a building complex, but these fragments are scattered alone on the ground, far apart from each other, just like... the aftermath of an entire magnificent building collapsing and flying everywhere.

I don't know what the reason behind it is.

Torisha led the way, taking Lann and his two companions from the wilderness to the main road, where the number of people visibly increased.

The unusual combination of Lan En, Qilin, and velvet ball drew frequent glances from passersby, but no one seemed particularly surprised.

Judging from the appearance, the size of the Witcher and the size of the Qilin are not uncommon here.

Lann quickly observed the pedestrians, hoping to gain more information about the new world.

Most of these people were dressed appropriately, in tight pants and mostly golden shirts. Some of them were quite wealthy and even had white puff sleeves around their necks and cuffs.

These people often walk on the road with a leader holding a flag. Abstract golden trees and many nested rings frequently appear on their flags and clothes.

He is in good health and has a full frame, so it is clear that he is not lacking in nutrition.

Rodel must have been a wealthy and materially abundant dynasty.

Torisha, the perfumer, seemed to be at a high level among the people, who treated her with great politeness and courtesy.

Soldiers patrolled along both sides of the road from time to time.

The lower-ranking soldiers were much the same as those Lan En had seen in other worlds: they wore drab gray cotton armor and chainmail, along with helmets and iron gauntlets, and carried long spears and short swords.

But the knights leading the soldiers were suddenly equipped with much more elaborate gear.

It was a full suit of gleaming gold plate armor, with gold thread embroidered on the gray cloak flowing down his back, featuring inlaid circular badges.

The badge is more prominent on the small shield-like emblem protecting the heart hanging on the left chest.

The knight's helmet ornament is a horizontally unfolding semi-circular metal fan, with a relief of a large tree with lush foliage.

Although he had only been here a short time, Lann already fully understood the meaning behind the decorations and patterns on these armors.

After all, the influence of the Golden Tree and that nested ring seems to be everywhere.

The golden tree's light bathed the land of Yatan. Lan En even wondered if the residents of Rodel at the foot of the tree could really sleep at night if the tree's light didn't change.
The closer they got to Rodel City, the more rigorous and frequent the patrols of these golden soldiers became, all the way to the foot of the city.

During this process, Lan En saw soldiers and warhorses of different physiques.

The most common type of knight was of average build and the size of an average horse. Such a knight was basically someone who could lead five or six low-ranking soldiers.

However, as you move up, warriors of similar build to Lan En begin to appear among Rodel's knights. Their warhorses are fully armored, their horse armor is also gleaming gold, and they are about the same height and length as a Qilin.

This is why passersby were not very surprised when they saw Lan En and Qilin.

This body type is not uncommon.

And upon reaching the city gate...

Lan En looked up and said, "It's a city gate, quite impressive indeed."

"Mmm!" The plush ball nodded repeatedly in agreement. "How impressive, meow!"

The entire city of Rodel was built on the edge of the Golden Tree, but for the enormous Golden Tree, the place where its roots were located was simply an abyss.

Therefore, Rodel was actually a city built against a backdrop of large trees and cliffs, with only a north gate and a west gate.

Torisha led Lann and the other two to enter the city through the west gate.

Leaving aside the towering city walls and massive city gates, just the area in front of the gates features a wide and sturdy, multi-tiered staircase. Climbing the slope into the city wouldn't be a problem, but Rodel made this long staircase look like a magnificent architectural complex.

The wide staircase was large enough for seven or eight carriages to pass side by side. The two sides of the staircase must have been sentry posts.

On the wide staircase, Rodel erected a huge statue, using the steps as a display platform.

A stone sage, ten stories high, stands atop it, along with a burly warrior of the same size, riding a horse and wielding a halberd.

Lan En has not yet seen the appearance of the local sage, so he does not know whether the statue is lifelike.

But the valiant knight saw the real-life version immediately after seeing the statue.

Two knights, identical to the statue, stood on either side of the city gate.

They were still covered in gold, but these two knights were much larger than Lann!

The Rhodes Knights, who were about the same height as Lann, only reached about chest level with them.

Their warhorses were even larger than Qilin!
His entire body was covered in thick, golden armor, so sturdy it was unimaginable.

The armor was adorned with exquisite patterns, and the helmet was decorated with a cluster of tree buds. He held a golden halberd in his right hand and a large golden shield in his left. The enormous circular shield was so large that it covered them and their horses, and its thickness was greater than the diameter of a normal person's clenched fist!
Lan En had expected that he and others who came from outside the city would be thoroughly questioned, since the two huge golden knights guarding the gate didn't look like people to be trifled with.

But unexpectedly, whether it was due to the long period of peace, overconfidence in Rodel's power, or simply because there were too many people coming here every day to worship the Golden Tree, it was unclear.

The process of entering the city was unexpectedly brief. Torisha simply nodded and greeted the knights guarding the gate before leading Lann into Rodel.

Upon reaching the top of the steps, the enormous golden knights on either side were very perceptive. They simultaneously turned their heads slightly to shift their gaze, meeting Lan En's eyes as he looked at them.

Beneath the thick visor, they saw the Witcher's eyes. They paused slightly, seemingly agreeing with Torisha that he was indeed a Faded One, and nodded slightly in acknowledgment amidst the heavy texture of the golden armor.

However, when they saw the lively and playful velvet ball, and the qilin tilting its head to look at their horses, their gazes paused almost imperceptibly. But they didn't say anything more.

Because of the Golden Tree, Lan En is currently cautiously keeping his [Spirit Vision] off.

However, just by looking at the faint light on the golden armor with the naked eye, one can tell that both the armor and the warriors inside possess genuine power.

"You don't even remember the Tree Guardians?" Torisia asked with great concern. "Losing the Blessing seems to have really hurt you. They are the loyal guardians of the Golden Tree!"

Lan En shook his head, adhering to his strategy of 'neither admitting nor refusing'.

He turned to look at the steps that had fallen behind him.

The magnificent and long staircase was packed with pilgrims and others who wanted to enter the city.

However, under the light of the golden tree, everything was orderly and peaceful, without any conflict or chaos.

It seems that everyone has unlimited patience and an abundance of surplus.

They continued walking into the city.

Rodel City is divided into inner and outer layers. As soon as Lan En entered, he saw a large area of ​​upward-facing staircases and buildings.

Rhodel's magnificent architecture, in Lann's opinion, seems to be comparable only to a few places such as the interior of Lonely Mountain hollowed out by the dwarves, Lothric at its peak, and the complete Anor Londo.

On the giant statues, the craftsmanship of the ancient Greek world seems to have a slight advantage.

If he hadn't experienced or seen those amazing sights, he might be speechless with awe right now.

“Let’s keep going,” Torisia said, adjusting her veil. “The Round Table Hall is in the inner city.”

Lan En led the Qilin, and the ancient dragon's hooves clattered on the city floor.

Further into the inner city, the architecture is largely the same, except that many important facilities are located within the inner city walls, which is quite different from the outer city.

Furthermore, the first thing anyone sees upon entering the inner city is... a gigantic dragon!
Rodel was already magnificent, but this dragon spread its wings and lay down in a 'struck down' posture, its enormous body covering almost half the sky of the city!

From this perspective, neither the Lavasioth nor Smaug is as large as it!
The fact that this dragon's entire body appears to be made of stone makes it difficult to determine whether it's a magnificent sculpture, a petrified corpse, or perhaps the dragons of this world are simply made of stone—similar to the ancient dragons of the Fire World, which are almost inorganic.
Torisha and the people of the inner city, however, seemed to have gotten used to it.

The place where the Faded Ones, whom Torisia calls heroes, gathers fits that description perfectly.

Even within the rich and magnificent inner city of Rodel, the location of the Round Table Hall is quite intuitive.

It is located on the west side of a main road in the middle of the royal city, a brightly lit fortress in the city.

If we take the most prominent landmark in the inner city of Rodel as a unit, then the Hall of the Round Table is located next to the fallen claw of the stone dragon.

Facing the main gate is a huge weapon in the claw of the stone dragon—a golden lance that resembles two intersecting bolts of lightning spiraling together and finally coiling into a cone shape!
(End of this chapter)