Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1912, 1884. The Visitor
Under Lan En's planning and command, the ruins in the royal city of Rodel were gradually cleared out, the open space became larger, and more and more corpses were placed on it.

Gradually, even the golden cloth most commonly used by the Golden Dynasty disappeared, and the exhumed corpses could only be left in the open.

But these corpses weren't particularly important anyway, so nobody really felt anything or said anything.

Lan En was called in to work at noon the day after the Black Knife Plot. By evening, he had activated the almost non-existent disaster relief capabilities of the royal city through his organization.

The perfumers and hybrids, coordinated by the Perfumers Association, had been busy all night and were taking a break as morning approached.

It was at this time that Lan En was summoned away by a Faded One he had never seen before.

"So you're the one who suddenly appeared, the faded one with the [Royal Code]?"

The visitor didn't introduce himself; instead, he immediately asked a question.

"Just call me Lann," the Witcher said with a nonchalant wry smile. "As for the aptitude to become a king... it's not that important anymore."

"Indeed, we are now in the Golden Age of Law, and the traditions established in those barbaric times are no longer applicable."

This person always had a smile on his lips, but that smile didn't make people feel friendly or relaxed; instead, it made them inexplicably angry.

Because of that smile, it always feels like a mocking smile.

The faded figure was dressed casually as a mage.

He wore little armor, a wide-brimmed pointed hat, and a cloak over his neat attire. He carried a large scythe on his back and had an alien staff tucked into his waistband.

His height is within the normal range, so he needs to look up at Lan En.

The person doesn't have any particularly distinctive features, except for two things.

First, there was his complexion; besides that mocking smile that made people unconsciously frown, his face also had a sickly pallor.

Secondly, his overall attire was not particularly special, but these clothes were decorated with a unique red gemstone. With Lan En's keen sense of smell, he could even smell the blood in the red gemstone.

Those are stones formed from blood.

"I am Alperish." After Lann, the newcomer also introduced himself. "I never expected that such a thing would happen in the royal city while I was out on a mission."

Even with Alperishna's seemingly mocking smile etched on his face, there was no shortage of emotion in his tone.

For the Faded Ones who weren't in the royal city of Rodel during the night of the Black Knife Plot, the most renowned prince of the Golden Dynasty had died of soul in the short time it took them to come and go!

The Faded Ones, being directly under the control of Two Fingers, were not ordinary people. Therefore, they were aware of the ripple effects of Godwin's death, even noting that the Golden Law had developed significant loopholes.

It seems that even the Golden Age of Laws may be coming to an end.

This feeling of astonishment is no less than the sudden reversal of heaven and earth in the blink of an eye.

“Twofingers sent out the message that very night, ordering all the Faded Ones out there to return immediately,” Alperish said, stroking the red sapphire on his wristband. “I’m relatively close, but it still took me a whole day to get back. As for the others, hmph, they’ll be waiting a long time.”

Lan En nodded.

He was no longer completely clueless when he first arrived at the border; he knew exactly who the faded figures were in the round table hall.

After all, these guys were all renowned heroes.

"So now, you've come to see me because...?" Lann spread his arms, gesturing for Alperish to look at the ruins and corpses around him. "I'm a bit busy here."

“There’s no rush for this. What’s wrong with burying the rotting corpses on the spot?” Alperish turned around and gestured for Lann to follow. “Baizhi sent me to call you because he has something really important to deal with.”

The Witcher immediately understood, handed the record of the dead to a perfumer, and followed Alperish.

"Someone from the Volcano official residence has arrived?"

"They arrived in Rodel almost right after me." As he spoke, Alperish's smile became even more infuriating. "How novel! They're far away at the Volcano Residence, yet they managed to return at the same time as me."

Judging from Alperich's words, when he heard the news of Godwin's death, he was definitely closer to Rodel than to the Volcano Mansion.

But as he hurried back, a faded figure, he bumped into the people from the Volcano Mansion.

Then, the other party must have already set off for here.

The two faded ones set off from a corner of the city that had been ravaged by the ancient dragons, heading towards the outer walls of Rodel.

Due to the angle, Fulsancus's strike only affected a small part of the city. The force that spread out caused cracks in the ground, but the rest of the area remained intact.

So the two got into the carriage and headed towards the outer wall.

Along the way, the people of the Golden Tree, who were still unable to fully grasp what had happened, actually began to feel a sense of returning to their normal lives.

On the battlements of the inner city wall of Rodel, the oracles still occasionally blow their golden flutes, eliciting prayers and worship from the people of the Golden Tree below.

In fact, quite a few people should know that oracle messengers symbolize the arrival of a new era and new laws.

However, the people of the Golden Tree had lived comfortably under the Golden Law for too long.

They resist putting their minds to think about such unacceptable things; this mental escapism is an instinct in everyone.

Rodel is vast, and if the powerful don't want their sudden bursts of speed to cause panic, then transportation is essential. Looking out the carriage window at the golden meadows and the massive tree-guarding statue of the Golden Dynasty, Lan En asked directly.

"So, what was the reply that Baizhi received from the Queen and the King's Consort?" The Witcher's gaze shifted from the window to Alperish. "How should we deal with the people from the Volcano Mansion?"

Previously, Lan En and Sir Bai Zhi had analyzed that, knowing that the mastermind behind the Black Knife Plot Night was Lani, a demigod from a powerful family, the only options for dealing with the people from the Volcano Mansion were either a hardline approach or appeasement.

The choice is in the Queen's hands.

"Hmph, Baizhi didn't get to see the Queen," Alperish said flippantly. "To be precise, after the Queen returned from the deep roots, she had no intention of seeing him at all, and went into the Golden Tree on her own."

"However, the King did give some advice. He told us to stabilize the situation first, and he would try to salvage it later. Then he followed the Queen into the Golden Tree."

"Is this the time to enter the Golden Tree?"

Lan En looked out the carriage window again; at this distance, the trunk of the golden tree seemed to fill the entire sky.

The Witcher then shook his head.

As for the Golden Tree, it's estimated that only the Golden Clan knows the truth about it in the entire border region. No one else can concern themselves with it.

Now that Wang Fuladagan has provided direction, things should be easier to handle at present.

Soon, they arrived at the outer walls of the royal city of Rodel.

By this time, Rodel had forbidden outsiders from entering, and since the night of the Black Knife Plot, pilgrims had been blocking the magnificent staircase in front of the gate.

Aside from the hybrids and perfumers brought in by Lan En, only the tree guards at the main gate who would let people in could be allowed to enter.

Feeling guilty for their dereliction of duty, the tree guardians now keep their blessed "sentinel torches" burning day and night, and beneath their heavy helmets, their eyes are fixed on everyone who tries to approach the gate.

The pilgrims were forced to stay at least twenty meters away from the gate, except for two people who seemed to have been granted the right to wait, standing between two large tree guards, craning their necks towards the gate.

Lann and Alperish stepped off the carriage.

And just then, I saw those two people.

One of them was a woman of normal build, whose face was not particularly beautiful, but she had a faint smile on her face.

The other one is a soldier who, including the helmet ornament, is around 2.78 meters tall.

He wore full-body copper-colored armor, carried a large shield of the same material on his back, with an upward curve in the center of the shield, and held a half-sword that fit his physique in both hands, made of the same material as his armor.

'Forge Knight.'

Lan En immediately recognized the image.

After all, this image is very famous in the border region and the Golden Dynasty.

The Forge Knights are the personal guard of the First King, Govre, and are his most powerful knightly order.

When King Gopher was stripped of his blessing and banished from the borderlands, these Forge Knights also lost their object of service, and thus scattered like stars, with many disappearing without a trace.

His bronze-like armor and weapons were not made of any other metal, but of genuine gold, just like the Knights of Rodel and the Tree Guardians in the Golden Dynasty.

However, the power of this world is affected by the changing laws, that is, the changing of the legal era.

During the Golden Age, the orthodox color of gold was dazzling gold.

However, in previous eras, when the Golden Tree was still a furnace of life, the true color of gold was reddish, and that red represented the power of life.

After getting off the vehicle, Alperish and the Furnace Knight did not exchange any words. Although they might know each other, now that the Furnace Knight had joined the Volcano Mansion, it was better for both of them not to communicate in the face of their respective positions.

"The Golden Tree still shines brightly. Good day, you two faded ones." The woman from the Volcano Mansion spoke first. "I am Dytika, the chief interrogator under Lord Lakad. May I ask...?"

“Oh, please come in, Ms. Ditika.”

Lann extended his hand in invitation, and only after this gesture did the tree guards on either side of Rodel's gate shift their attention from the two people at the volcano mansion and allow them to enter.

"Why don't we find a room inside the city walls and have a talk?"

Lann suggested, but although Ditika still had that faint smile, she quickly refused.

"No, I think we should finish this as soon as possible. Let's do it here."

Upon entering through the gates of Rodel, one is greeted by a vast, boundless square.

"Our lord is deeply shocked by the murder of Prince Godwin! He has dispatched all the capable men of the Volcano Palace, vowing to bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible. This is both revenge and a means to uphold the laws of the dynasty."

"But as a demigod, he was also very worried that those traitors might disturb the royal city."

Ditika spoke hastily, as if she were genuinely anxious about the sudden changes in the Golden Dynasty.

"Of course, Queen Marika and the King Consort's power is unmatched, but my lord is worried that the two of them are overthinking the prince's death. Therefore, my lord wishes to help the royal city with its many difficulties at this time."

(End of this chapter)