Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1920 1892. The New King?

"Please forgive us," Sir Hundred-Minded addressed the crowd in the cathedral calmly, "we, like you, yearn for the truth. Therefore, we will return to the Hall of the Round Table to see Twofinger. Once we receive Twofinger's orders, we will obey. Farewell."

After saying that, Sir Hundred Wisdom, together with the other Faded Ones, walked down the steps.

It's clear they no longer want to waste time waiting outside the sealed-off palace.

Lan En followed suit and turned to leave with the Faded Ones.

Before leaving, he took one last look at the densely packed heads and eyes inside the Golden Tree Cathedral.

The golden light in Cifu's eyes had dimmed considerably compared to an hour ago.

Those eyes were filled with complex emotions.

Panic and anxiety are normal. After all, even a rough guess is that there must be a major problem with the Elden Ring, which is why the people of the Golden Tree, who are blessed by the Golden Law, are affected so much throughout the world.

However, there are some people who try to hide themselves and subconsciously stand at the back of the crowd.

The light in their eyes was one of deep thought and careful consideration.

Royal city of Rodel, the heart of the Golden Dynasty.

Is it really possible that there are no other demigods, or even other forces, here?

The answer is self-evident.

Two days ago, when Prince Godwin of the Golden Age was assassinated, it was shocking and terrifying. However, people had lived in the Golden Age for a long time, and their respect for Queen Marika and the Golden Dynasty was impeccable.

Therefore, even such a big event will not cause too much chaos.

Just earlier today, the people of Rodel almost believed that times had returned to calm.

But in such a short time since Prince Godwin's death, another major event has occurred!
Unrest among the people is now inevitable.

Once people's hearts begin to waver, chaos is not far off.

The Faded Ones left Rodel's superstructure area and returned to the independent fortress on the street.

Without pausing for a moment, after imprisoning Alperish and the two prisoners held by Lann, Gideon Ofnir immediately led all the Faded Ones currently in the Hall of the Round Table to the door of the room at the deepest part of the building.

A creaking sound came from the door, indicating that even though Twofinger had been hiding in this room, he still knew they were coming.

Lan En followed the Faded Ones inside and looked around.

This is perfectly normal, since Shuangzhi can project his power onto the palace at the top of Rodel and use a light barrier to completely seal it off.

Such a huge and magnificent city, with its great elevation differences, was all within the range of His power projection. It was perfectly normal for Him to know what was happening outside of a mere room.

The Faded Ones, however, did not possess Lan En's ability to observe his surroundings.

For these locals in the border region, seeing a crack appear in the golden tree was almost as bad as the collapse of their faith!

After the faded individuals entered the room, they sat down in turn on the chairs on both sides of the red carpet.

It looks natural; perhaps this is the usual procedure when the faded individuals collectively pay homage to the two fingers.

The last time Sir Hundred Wisdoms brought Lann to get the two-finger certification, that was an exceptional case. Who would have thought that there would still be Faded Ones wandering outside the Golden Law Era?

[Grandma Unfurling Her Finger] Eun-ya, her withered and emaciated body still leaning on her cane, sat at the lower position of the two-finger throne.

The slender, long fingers of the hand swayed silently in mid-air, creating the same mysterious atmosphere as always.

But as the two fingers moved silently, the faded ones, who had just sat down, were so startled that they stood up again almost immediately!
Because—both fingers are injured!

Originally, when Lan En first saw this creature, although its shape was strange, every inch of skin on its slender palms was smooth and full of vitality, and its two fingers were long and clean.

Just as human fingers can peel and ulcerate due to a lack of vitamins or trace elements, there are also many places on the body of the fingers where the skin is ulcerated, exposing the flesh and blood beneath the skin.

Furthermore, his once firm skin began to show signs of loosening and wrinkling, suddenly transforming from a 'youthful palm' into an 'old man's palm,' as if countless years had passed in an instant.

Or rather, does a being like Two Fingers, capable of granting immortality to others at will, truly age with the passage of time? Or does it appear old because it has expended too much power and suffered too many injuries?
"No need to panic."

Just as the faded ones stood up in shock, [Grandma Unraveling Fingers] Enya spoke in a serious and heavy tone.

Those who have faded from memory know that, in this tone, "unraveling the fingers" is an explanation of the language of two fingers.

Therefore, as if following an order, the cross-dressing beauty Dolores looked at Lann on her left and then at Vic on her right, and the group slowly sat down again.

"The great Elden Ring is broken. The closer you get, the more likely you are to get hurt. This broken body is only to be expected. There is no need to be surprised."

The injured fingers continued to sway silently, and Jie Zhi continued to watch the dancing fingers, speaking in a paraphrased tone.

"You are right, it is indeed the [Eternal Queen] Marika who has committed this unforgivable and heinous crime!"

"Marika is the host of the Elden Ring, and can see its related phantoms. In other words, she is a god!"

"The Elden Ring is the Golden Law! And she, as a god, has broken the law, and is now imprisoned within the Golden Tree. As punishment for this heinous crime, it is entirely justified." Lann's peripheral vision clearly showed that almost all the Faded Ones present clenched their jaw muscles at that moment.

This means they clenched their teeth uncontrollably.

Two fingers hadn't finished speaking, nor had they explained why He had sealed off the palace.

But even just confirming the speculations that the former faded ones dared not openly dared to utter was enough to stir up a storm of deep doubts and confusion in the hearts of these warriors.

Queen Marika personally shattered the Elden Ring?!

Are you kidding me? !

The significance of the Elden Ring to this world is self-evident. Even just considering its significance to the Queen herself... isn't the reason she became the only god in this world today precisely because she presented her laws to the Ring and allowed them to operate on it?
The foundation of the Golden Dynasty! The foundation of the Golden Law! The foundation of the Golden Tree!

The Elden Ring is the foundation of everything!

Queen Marika, at the very end of the war, was the greatest contributor to the war against the giants, and her first husband, the First King, was undisputed by anyone.

If Queen Marika were to order the massacre of a city, no one would object.

Because these are all minor matters.

Under the Golden Law, before the God of the Golden Law, these are trivial matters. They can be done at will.

But what about smashing the Elden Ring?

What kind of legal age would that be? What kind of god would there be?

The life at the border originated from the golden meteor that brought the Elden Ring.

Since the existence of the Elden Ring, the system of gods and kings has been constantly changing and maintained at the border.

—Even today!
And now, Marika has shattered the Ring of Law. She has shattered the very origin of life at the border!

If we were to draw an analogy to any myth or legend, this kind of blasphemy and disrespect would be equivalent to completely shattering the "creation of man" aspect of the myth!

Why is she doing this?

So what if the Golden Law has loopholes? Does it warrant shattering the legal system?
It couldn't be that he was so grief-stricken by the death of his eldest son that he went insane, could it?
Putting aside others, even Lan En, who had only met this "Eternal Queen" twice, did not think she would do anything irrational because of sadness.

Marika was a goddess who ushered in a glorious era of life, granting all her subjects endless lifespans and stable reincarnations, allowing them to fully savor the beauty of life.

But the means by which she ushered in this era... were nothing short of massacre and war!
She was indeed grieving over Godwin's death, but during their last meeting, Lann didn't sense that this terrifying yet beautiful goddess had even the slightest bit of madness.

No one knows why the Eternal Queen suddenly shattered the Elden Ring. Twofinger might know, but if He doesn't want to say, no one can ask.

So despite the turmoil in their hearts, the faded ones could only sit quietly and listen to the instructions of the two fingers.

"No matter how unwise Marika may be, the facts are the facts."

Eun-ah continued to carefully examine the traces left by her two fingers in mid-air, and then explained them in a deep voice.

"Now, the Golden Law is broken, not just a matter of minor loopholes. The Golden Dynasty is also teetering on the brink of collapse. The resulting consequences are inevitable."

"The world and life will be destroyed beyond repair, and the curses and misfortunes that were once suppressed and soothed by the Golden Law will spread everywhere."

Lan En, seated in his seat, listened to Enya's retelling while slightly narrowing his eyes.

He sensed the double fingers'... 'words'. But he couldn't be sure, unsure if it was a genuine expression of emotion in some sense.

The double-finger gesture emphasizes the tragic picture following the collapse of the Golden Law, a tactic often used to intimidate believers.

For example, the Christian concept of hell and the predetermined end times.

Using a terrifying future to strengthen believers' dependence on their faith is a tactic used by various religions.

Judging from the results, even seasoned warriors like the Faded Ones looked quite unwell.

After all, they had lived through the glorious Golden Age for a long time.

Generally speaking, after intimidating their followers, religions will...

Thinking silently to himself, Lan En turned to look at his two fingers swaying to themselves.

"Even so! Faded Ones! The Supreme Will will not abandon the borderlands!"

Grandma Jie shouted as Lan En looked at her expectantly.

"A king! A king who can reshape the Golden Law! A king who can bring stability to the world is about to appear!"

"That's why I sealed off the entire palace!"

"Spread the message, Faded Ones! Tomorrow morning, the people of the capital will go to the cathedral to pay homage to the new king!"

(End of this chapter)