Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1907, 1879. Lani's Thoughts
"There is only one Elden Ring in this world, and there is only one person who can reveal their own laws to the Ring and become a god."

Sir Hundred-Minded Sage coldly recounted the position of that truly great, yet cruel, deity.

"Before the Golden Dynasty was established, the process of the birth of all the gods, including those from the War of the Giants and the past, was actually quite similar."

"The gods strengthen their power and expand their influence, then fight and kill each other. The last god who survives will naturally be able to meet the Elden Ring and become a god."

"What Lani, the Moon Princess, wants is to bring the current borderlands back into this rhythm of gods and humans fighting each other?" Lan En pinched his chin with his thumb and forefinger. "In other words, she didn't actually have the opportunity to engage in this traditional kind of fighting during the Golden Dynasty?"

“You’re quite perceptive,” Gideon Ofnir complimented Lann casually. “Indeed.”

"God and king have always been two indispensable figures in the belief systems of border regions. God is in charge of the law, while king..."

As he spoke, Sir Hundred Wisdom glanced meaningfully at the Witcher in front of him, after all, the other party was also someone with the potential to become a king.

"To be responsible for protecting God and the law with unparalleled strength, and to attack other gods and other laws."

"God and King are complementary and indispensable."

"But now, the borderlands are in the Golden Age of Law, an era that values ​​order and civilization. Even if Queen Marika does decline one day, the succession of the next god should not be as bloody and cruel as before."

"Queen Marika led the Golden Dynasty to usher in an era of civilization. She believed that it was always good for the border regions to change and for civilization to develop."

At this point, Sir Hundred-Minded changed the subject.

"So I guess that this was one of the considerations when King Govre was exiled. After all, King Govre was still a traditional king who crushed his enemies and established a dynasty with the power of barbarism. But if the dynasty is to develop in the direction of civilization, the king of the old era is probably not up to the task."

"There is much criticism of King Fraldagan, but objectively speaking, during his reign as King of Elden, he abolished the 'fighting ritual' of offering one's life and blood to the Golden Tree. He also further developed the Golden Law into a more rational and logical fundamentalism of the Golden Law. These are all his contributions to the development of civilization in the Golden Dynasty."

"But his greatest contribution to the development of civilization and the elimination of barbarism is not just this."

Sir Hundred's fingers tapped lightly on the sphere at the top of his palm.

"His greatest contribution was that he wanted to make the bloody process of succession between the two generations of gods more civilized and stable."

"The Golden Dynasty was the first dynasty in the history of the borderlands to unify the entire territory. Currently, there are three divine beings, all of whom are demigods within the dynasty."

"[Princess of the Moon] Lani, [Valkyrie] Malenia, [Pure Gold] Michaela. There are only three demigods among them, gods who bear the burden of laws."

"If this were in a previous era, these three divine beings would have had to find their respective kings, form partnerships, expand their power, kill all their opponents, and bleed every drop of blood from their enemies before they could ascend to godhood."

"But as I said: the Golden Dynasty was the first dynasty in history to unify the borderlands. Power, knowledge, strongmen... Gods and men who want to compete for the divine throne must expand their power, but now, all the things needed to expand power are within the Golden Dynasty's system."

"They can no longer recruit soldiers at will like in the past."

"You can only have armed forces if the Golden Dynasty agrees to it; otherwise, it's considered rebellion."

"The problem of the gods fighting each other has been partially solved. But one big problem remains."

"A king." Before Sir Hundred Wisdoms could speak, Lan En, whose thoughts had become much clearer with the description, had already spoken up and reached a conclusion, "Gods need a king. An absolute strongman."

In this world of gods, an absolute powerhouse can completely overturn an army!
“Yes,” Gideon Ophniel once again praised Lann’s insight, “a king.”

"A powerful king could appear out of nowhere, like a golden tree. Before King Gofrey became Queen Marika's mate, he was just a barbarian warrior."

“If the gods find their own desired king and the gods and kings unite, that is the greatest trouble and the root of turmoil.”

"Fortunately, the Golden Dynasty can offer the best and most suitable king. They can use this king to lure in all the gods. After all, how can one succeed in vying for that one and only divine throne without striving for the best?"

At this point, Lan En was completely certain.

A smile played on his lips: "[Gold] Godwin. The one that Radagan throws out to attract all the gods."

"He is not only powerful enough to be a qualified king, but he also possesses the most legitimate claim to the Golden Dynasty's succession. Even in terms of the traditional criteria for becoming king, he has ancient dragon companions as proof."

“Once a god can form a partnership with him, he will immediately gain the support of the entire Golden Dynasty. He will not only gain a king, but also a group power that can rule the borderlands.” “Once a god-king relationship can be formed with Godwin, other gods will basically have no chance of success from that moment on.”

Sir Hundred-Minded nodded: "It seems you understand the design of King Fraladagan's system."

"Before the Golden Dynasty, the gods chose their own kings, then fought each other until only one remained. The victor won everything, ascended to the divine throne, and had an audience with the Elden Ring."

"But after the Golden Dynasty was established, the initiative was actually in Prince Godwin's hands: as the king, whoever he chose as his divine companion would win!"

“The appearance of gods is uncontrollable,” Gideon Ophniel glanced at Lane, who was listening attentively. “No one knows if someone will suddenly be burdened with a law.”

"But the heir to the throne can set the rules. Just like Prince Godwin, who enjoys the right of legal succession and the power derived from his bloodline."

“Stable rules are better than chaotic warfare. Give the initiative of choice to the king, who will be selected by a clear legal process within the dynasty.”

"In this way, the entire process of the succession of gods can become stable and orderly."

“Hearing you say that,” Lann laughed, “it seems that King Fraladagan is indeed a far-sighted and insightful ruler.”

Sir Bai Zhi shook his head: "He was a capable man to begin with. If he were just an ordinary person, even if he were a member of the Rare People and handsome and strong, how could he have gotten Queen Marika to marry him?"

"His bad reputation stems from the highly publicized process of him becoming King of Elden. When people discuss it, they only focus on the more sensational aspects; who cares about his true character or appearance?"

"But even Rdagan and Queen Marika would never have imagined... that Lani would be so precise and ruthless when she made her move!"

Lann understands what Gideon Ophniel is saying now.

Of the three divine beings of the Golden Dynasty, Lani is a demigod from a powerful maternal family and lives a secluded life in Lienia, rarely venturing out and even releasing information about herself. It can be said that she has absolutely no connection to Godwin and is not familiar with him at all.

Conversely, Michaela and Marlenia, though children of Radagan and Queen Marika, are at least half-siblings to Godwin.

She was naturally closer to the Golden Prince than Lani.

When the choice was mainly held by the Golden Prince himself, this closeness meant that Lani had no chance to compete with the brother and sister in the process of the next generation of gods ascending to godhood!
[Valkyrie] Malenia is completely loyal to her brother, [Pure Gold] Michaela.

It is foreseeable, and even a conclusion can be drawn: if all goes well, then the next generation of gods and kings in the borderlands will be Michaela and Godwin.

As Baizhi said, Lani, a demigod who was related to Baizhi by marriage, was helpless in this situation.

This is because it is a succession system established by the Radagan regime, which controlled the Golden Dynasty.

This is equivalent to changing the way societies and deities in border areas pass on their thrones from the most initial and primitive form of mutual slaughter to a legal succession.

By analogy, it's like in ancient China, where the abdication system, which was based on tribal alliances, evolved into a state where the country was ruled by the family.

This kind of progress may not be very noticeable to people who come after it. But it was indeed a step forward in the system.

If Lani wants to win, she will be fighting against the entire system integrated by Rdagan. There is absolutely no hope of success.

But this demigod from a powerful maternal relative, Lan En, seems to have a cold and distant temperament, but he is also an absolute ruthless person!
Within a pre-planned system, within a pre-designed framework, she truly had no chance of winning.

Since that's the case, let's just destroy all the rules and systems!

It's unclear whether it was Lani's own insight or if there were capable people among her Kalia royal staff.

In any case, she had already seen the most crucial and vulnerable link in the system designed by Radagon—Godwin himself!

Without Godwin, a smooth transition of power would be impossible!
The gods and humans will still have to fight each other with their raw strength, just like before the war of the giants!
In this way, although Lani is still a demigod from a maternal family, she at least has two older brothers with status, strength, and military power.

Although it might incur the hatred of Radagan and Queen Marika, at least this means being able to take a seat at the table instead of being served as a dish.

(End of this chapter)