Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1837, 1809: The Theft Case

“Oh, you don’t want to say what the Qilin is.” Gideon Ofnir, who was asked by Lan En, seemed to have gotten the answer directly from the question. “It’s okay, I will respect other people’s secrets.”

His voice remained calm and somber.

Lan En was already somewhat used to this. He pulled out the chair that was propped up by the Qilin's head. He glanced at Sir Bai Zhi standing against the wall, shook his head at him, and then sat down facing him.

The Qilin, its 'pillow and chair' removed, lay on the ground with its strong, long neck, letting out a disgruntled 'humph'.

Lann leaned back in his chair. The chairs in the round hall were sturdy and exquisite, and the witcher's fingers could feel the fine carvings on them.

The candlelight was dim, and the smell of musty paper and ink filled the air...

Judging from Lan En's posture, he clearly understood from the other party's reaction that he hadn't come to see him to go and meet Twofinger together. That's why he adopted a posture of sitting down and talking slowly, rather than standing and being ready to leave at any time.

Conversations between intelligent people often skip most of the steps.

"It has been hundreds of years since King Gofulei and his legions were driven out of the borderlands. I never imagined that there would still be fellow Faded Ones scattered in the borderlands."

Sir Hundred's dark helmet gaps pointed up and down at Lann.

"But in any case, as a senior member of the Round Table, I welcome you. I am Gideon Ofnir, Sir Hundred Wisdom, a man thirsting for knowledge."

Lan En responded to his welcome by saying, "Just call me Lan En. You already know about Qilin and Rongbuqiu."

“Please forgive me,” Sir Hundred-Genius apologized insincerely, “a Faded One with the potential to become a king has suddenly appeared. I should know something about him, shouldn’t I?”

"Understandable."

“That would be perfect.” Without any hesitation, Gideon immediately turned the page and continued, “Just as you realize.”

"You are still just a passerby in the Round Table Hall. Please keep this in mind and do not overstep your bounds."

“We were allowed to remain in the borderlands to serve Queen Marika only because Two Fingers recognized our abilities when she was fading our power and banishing us. But you were not among them.”

"You can eat and stay in the Hall of the Round Table, but only when you prove your worth will the deepest room in the Hall of the Round Table open for you. Only then will you hear the words of the two fingers."

"Only then will you truly be a member of the Round Table Hall."

“Then I think,” Lan En said, his eyes revealing a hidden meaning as he scanned the other man from head to toe, “you must be carrying a mission that allows me to demonstrate my abilities?”

“Of course,” Sir Hundred admitted without hesitation.

With the hand that wasn't supporting his cane, he pulled a scroll of paper from under the cloak behind his armor and handed it out.

The velvet ball, who was sitting on the bed, hopped and took the paper roll from Gideon's hand, then turned and handed it to Lann.

"Hmm..." A voice with interest came from the darkness of the helmet, "The wise beast beside you is quite... lively."

Lan En shrugged at this and unrolled the paper to take a look.

The above content is not complicated; it simply describes a theft case.

But Lan En's eyebrows immediately rose.

He lifted his amber cat-like eyes from the scroll and looked at Sir Hundred Wisdom across from him.

"The giant flame on the snow mountain... has it been stolen?"

Lan En blinked, wondering if the Golden Dynasty was about to wage another world-destroying war against giants.

“It’s just sensationalist intelligence.” Gideon Ophniel chuckled in a somber, hoarse voice. “Lower-rank officials often resort to exaggeration when they want operational support. Nothing new.”

No wonder Lan En looked like he'd just witnessed something unbelievable.

The events of 'War of the Giants' and 'Fire of the Giants' were simply too significant for the border region.

The War of the Giants is a collective term for the protracted war fought in the border regions unified by the Golden Dynasty.

The intensity, geographical scope, and duration of this war were all astonishing.

The war began on the snow-capped mountains of the Altan Plateau, where Rodel resided, inhabited by the fire giants.

Queen Marika at that time had successfully revealed her laws to the Elden Ring and become a deity.

However, becoming a god is only up to her. To establish a golden dynasty and expand the golden laws she upholds until they can encompass most of the people in the borderlands, she still needs real expansion and conquest.

But the primary problem at the time was that the fire giants worshipped their evil fire god, and their "annihilating flames" were said to be enough to burn the golden tree!

The Golden Tree is the key to Queen Marika's Golden Law and must not be lost.

Therefore, in order to eliminate the hidden dangers, even though the Golden Dynasty was still in its early stages, it was necessary to first eliminate the fire giants on the snow mountain before it could begin to spread the laws with peace of mind.

The war began with the extermination of the fire giants, hence it was called the 'War of the Giants'.

However, once the hidden dangers were eliminated, the Golden Dynasty became unstoppable, maintaining its dominance even when it was at odds with all the forces on the border. After defeating the giants on the snowy mountains, the legion marched south to Lienia, below the Altan Plateau.

The legion led by Radagan, who was then just a "red-haired hero," fought two Lienian battles against the Carian royal family of Lienia, and finally conquered the country through a marriage alliance.

The First King then continued south, conquering the Nymgford region.

During this time, while the main army and its powerful leaders were away, Gu Long launched a surprise attack on the royal city of Rodel. He was then defeated by the "Golden" Godwin, who was stationed inside the city, and they became allies. This is the Gu Long Campaign.

There also seems to be a 'snake rebellion' in the middle, which is not described in great detail.

It is said that at that time, the golden tree would drip precious and inexhaustible sap and dew from its branches. These were the golden tree's blessings, and sometimes Queen Marika would even personally collect the dew under the tree, bless it, and then distribute it to the people.

That wonderful era was called the Age of Abundance.

Unfortunately, with the 'rebellion of the snake,' the era of abundance was short-lived.

Because the 'Death' god-man who was defeated by Queen Marika was represented by a snake, the people of the borderlands already harbored prejudice against snakes, and their hatred intensified afterward.

Then, the blessing of the southward-bound army was stripped away on the spot after the final battle, and the Faded Ones appeared.

The entire war of giants finally came to an end at this moment, and Rdagan became Queen Marika's second husband and the King of Elden.

Now, let's return to the fire giant.

The original King Govre and his legions slaughtered all the giants, leaving only the last, smaller one alive.

When the Golden Dynasty army fought their way to the top of the snow-capped mountain and saw the giant cauldron of flames that the giants worshipped, they realized that the extinguishing flames were flames that could not be extinguished.

If it cannot be extinguished, then the only option is to seal it.

The only surviving fire giant was cursed by Queen Marika and made to guard the cauldron of fire.

That's why Lan En couldn't keep his composure when he saw this information.

If the Flame Giant's [Ashfire] were truly stolen, it would indeed be a major event that would send the Golden Dynasty into a state of martial law and chaos.

But since Gideon Ofnier is so nonchalant, things are probably far from that serious.

"He was a very famous thief."

Seeing that Lann not only understood the implications but was also unfazed, Sir Bai Zhi continued to explain with a faint, sinister laugh.

"His name is Adam. What was stolen was not the original giant [Ashfire], but merely a prayer of the Flame Watchers on the snowy mountain."

"It is said that he entered and exited the snow mountain via a secret route and stole this prayer from the men of Aganti, the head of the Watchers."

The Flame Watchers are an organization established by the Golden Dynasty on the snowy mountain. After all, the [Extinction Flame] concerns the safety of the Golden Tree, and even with a seal placed on it and the last Flame Giant cursed to guard it, Queen Marika still felt it wasn't enough.

A group of people were specially assigned to guard the snow-capped mountains, build fortresses and watchtowers, and keep watch on the flames day and night.

The so-called "prayer" is a major category of spells in the borderland spellcasting system.

Similar to the fire world that Lan En had traveled through, the magic in this world is mainly divided into two categories.

One type is [magic], which involves casting spells through meticulous research and thought, and there are many different schools of thought.

But the most famous is the Lienia region where the "King's Consort" Radagan arranged his marriage. There, the Caria royal family resides, and there is also a magic academy called Realucaria.

Prayer is a form of magic performed through devout faith and a deep understanding of deities and theology.

There are many schools of thought, ever since the golden meteor fell upon the borderlands. Countless gods, deities, and even near-beings worshipped by fools may have developed their own [prayer] spells.

And the prayers of the Flame Watchers must undoubtedly be related to fire.

The vast amount of books that Mentos had rapidly memorized over the past seven days were quickly provided to Lan En like a search catalog, thanks to Mentos's adjustments.

This kind of human-computer interaction is almost instantaneous, and the information stored in the brain is no different from what one would remember entirely.

"A prayer scroll is missing?" Lann gently patted the scroll in his palm, pondering, "Shouldn't this be something the Flame Watchers should try to resolve internally?"

The foundation of the Golden Dynasty is the Golden Tree, therefore it is not only wary of and repulsed by [Ashfire], but also by ordinary fire spells and fire power.

The fewer people you can contact, the better, and the smaller the scope, the better.

But after Lan En finished speaking, Bai Zhi, who was hunched over, looked up at him.

"You are indeed very intelligent, Lann. I'm starting to believe that you were once a rational and powerful warrior."

"But the problem now is no longer as simple as that thief named Adam stealing a prayer from the snow mountain."

(End of this chapter)