Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1919, 1891. Two-Finger Barrier
"The Elden Ring is broken?!"

As soon as he stepped off the carriage, Alperish, who had dragged the person up to the Golden Tree Cathedral, loosened his grip, and Ditika collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably. Alperish then took three steps at a time, approaching the group of Faded Ones with a fierce and incredulous air.

"Do you know what you're saying, Baizhi?!"

“I think I’m being very rational.” Gideon Ophniel turned to look at Lann and Alperish who were nearby.

But he seemed to want Alperish, who had just received this huge shocking news, to calm down first.

So he temporarily ignored Alperish, whose breathing was unsteady, and instead looked up and down at Lann, who was walking behind him and dragging a Furnace Knight with him.

The Forge Knight's armor clattered and rattled as Lann climbed the steps.

"It seems the negotiations are not going well?"

"No, things went very smoothly at first. The chief interrogator from the Volcano Mansion was all smiles." The witcher pointed to Ditika on the ground as he passed by, shaking his head. "But then..."

Lann didn't say anything more, but simply tilted his chin up and gestured towards the palace behind the Golden Tree Cathedral.

That's also the direction of the Golden Tree.

There is no need to say more about the rest.

In the face of such a huge and sudden change, no one should be able to remain calm.

When people are not calm, they usually reveal their deepest thoughts and stances.

In this situation, no matter how well things go at the beginning, a fight is inevitable once the truth is revealed.

By bypassing Alperish and directly asking Lan about the situation, Bai Zhi deliberately ignored Alperish, which did help him calm down a bit.

His wide-brimmed eyes swept over every one of the Faded Ones gathered there, and behind them, in the Golden Tree Cathedral, were the Knights of Rodel and the officials of the Golden Dynasty…

The Elden Ring is the source of life in this world, the principle governing the world, and the ultimate destination of faith.

In fact, the fact that Bai Zhineng bluntly stated that "the Elden Ring is broken" without immediately causing controversy or more serious violence is enough to illustrate the situation.

—It's probably true!

...But how is that possible?! That's the Elden Ring of Justice!

Among the Faded Ones, Krepp, dressed in a low-key manner, glanced at the prisoners on the ground: "The Forge Knights who have defected to the Volcano Mansion, and the Chief Torturer? Heh, take them to the cells in the Round Table Hall, with the Black Knives, and I'll take good care of them."

"Never mind these trivial matters!" Alperish roared. "The Ring! How could the Ring possibly be broken?!"

"How could it break?" Krepp asked with a sneer, as if he found it absurd. "Isn't it obvious? That's the Elden Ring! You know in your heart who could break it!"

"Only our God! The only one in the borderlands..."

"Shut up!"

"shut up!"

Krepp's sneer grew sharper, but before he could finish speaking, Dolores and Vic, who were standing next to him, interrupted him sternly.

Gideon Ofnir, leaning on his cane, stared intently at Krepp from the darkness beneath his helmet.

Only after Dolores and Vic completely silenced him did he speak softly and gently.

"Things are still unresolved, and nobody knows what happened. If you think you're qualified to make that judgment... ha, Krepp, don't let your anger and loyalty to Twofinger cloud your judgment! Look where you are!"

Gideon Ofnier's voice was hoarse, and when he spoke in a low voice, it already gave people a sense of danger.

His tone now bordered on a blatant threat.

But Krepp seemed quite familiar with the divisions among the faders, and thus showed no reaction, at least not on his face under the hood.

A faint sneer escaped from his nose, but he didn't say anything more.

The dispute between the faded ones went largely unnoticed, because there was now so much arguing and bickering going on inside the Golden Tree Cathedral.

Knights quarreled among themselves, officials quarreled among themselves, and knights and officials quarreled among themselves...

"The Golden Clan! Where is the Golden Clan?" someone shouted from the crowd. "The Golden Tree has developed a crack!"

The shout was immediately met with a response.

"And that sound of it shattering!"

"What exactly happened? Someone has to come forward and explain!"

The crowd shouted in unison.

Some sounds were normal, while others were muffled and clearly coming from inside the helmet.

The cathedral has two levels, and now not only is the lower hall full of people, but the upper viewing platform is also packed with people.

A quick glance reveals golden pupils everywhere, seemingly blessed.

The person on the terrace suddenly pointed down and shouted, "There!"

People looked in the direction it was pointing, and a figure over three meters tall stood out among the many uneven figures, with a circle of empty space around him.

Upon closer inspection, the man was adorned with numerous gold ornaments and was indeed a member of the Golden Clan. Lan En tilted his head and glanced at him, realizing he recognized this member of the Golden Clan as well. It was Grik.

Although he was a junior member of the family, and his father was a border garrison commander, his status in the royal city of Rodel was, strictly speaking, that of a hostage. But in any case, by blood and by law, he was undoubtedly a member of the Golden Clan.

Suddenly called out from the crowd, Grek was covered in cold sweat and his face was deathly pale.

It was clear that he had only just recovered from the intense pain of the blessing's upheaval.

Regardless of the power that the bloodline of the Golden Clan gave him, his willpower and tolerance for pain were truly remarkable.

The breaking of the Elden Ring affected everyone except the Faded Ones and Lann.

Those who have managed to get to the Golden Tree Cathedral to find out the cause of the tragedy have all endured immense suffering and adjusted their mindset in time to make their way here.

The entire cathedral was filled with the elite of the royal city.

Ordinary people are still in pain and can't recover, or they're lying on the spot with their bodies convulsing.

This sudden moment is a test for everyone, a time to see who is truly capable. Grek's performance, however, was far from satisfactory.

Many of the Golden Dynasty officials and knights present frowned at this, but did not say anything further.

This, to some extent, is a microcosm of the advanced nature of the system established by Wang Fuladagan.

Even the weak-willed Grek could stand firm among so many knights and officials through his bloodline and the law, without much controversy or turmoil.

Although Grek himself is still not in good condition, his expression is mixed with excitement.

It's as if they can finally use their status as members of the Golden Clan to have a chance to make their mark in the dynasty.

However, his own qualities made him seem rather insecure.

"I...I am the true heir of the Golden Clan!" After being called out, Grek stepped forward and shouted, though his voice trembled, "At this moment, I have the right and the obligation to know what has happened!"

The noisy and arguing crowd parted in front of him, making way for the palace behind the Golden Tree Cathedral.

With an obviously forced aura, Greck took a deep breath and walked toward the door at the end of the road.

Behind the gate, you can clearly see the white staircase leading upwards.

But just as Grek was stiffening his neck, trying to step over the door...

"Om~"

A light barrier blocked Grek's way of entering the once empty gate.

"Uh!"

Although Grek had been putting on a brave face, his composure, which at least had some semblance of dignity, immediately crumbled.

The knights and officials around him, who had initially held expectations for him, now showed expressions of disappointment, but not much surprise.

If they could go to the palace, they would have done so long ago; this is a major event concerning the Elden Ring!

The key problem is that it's blocked by the barrier light curtain, so we can't get up there at all!
They had thought that the Golden Clan's bloodline and status would allow them to pass through the barrier, but now even Grek was being kept out.

It's unclear whether it's because he, a member of the Golden Clan, is incompetent, or whether this light barrier simply blocks everyone, regardless of who they are.

"What does it mean?"

The other bystanders were accepting of Grek being stopped, since they didn't have much expectation of him to begin with.

But Greck himself couldn't accept it. He turned around abruptly and shouted towards the direction outside the Golden Tree Cathedral.

"Faded Ones! Give me an explanation! Give us all an explanation! What does this two-finger gesture mean?!"

The Faded Ones remained silent in the face of Greck's questioning, which was, in fact, the reason why they could only stand outside the cathedral now.

—When the light barrier that blocked everyone from entering the palace appeared, a double-finger emblem appeared in the center of the light barrier.

The badge design is very simple: two white rings, one inside the other, with a white glowing string forming the rings.

These strings are called "secret texts," which mean 'words of light emanating from two fingers'.

On the whetstone knife that the mixed-breed blacksmith Xiu Gu gave to Lan En, there was a small inscription.

Aside from the material of the whetstone itself, it is this secret inscription that gives it its unique ability: to remove and install war ash from weapons.

At the border, this badge clearly indicates who set up the light barrier.

Only two fingers.

Under the intense gazes of many people and Greg, Gideon Ofnir cautiously addressed the crowd.

"Everyone, if you have any questions, you don't need to send out a member of the Golden Clan to ask us."

“We are merely the Faded Ones, taken in by Two Fingers when we were expelled, and forced to serve them. If Two Fingers have sealed off the entire palace, then we Faded Ones have no right to know the truth.”

(End of this chapter)