Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1921, 1893: He Came Back to Life
The Faded Ones knew nothing of the 'new king who could stabilize the world' described by the two fingers.

Even Gideon Ophniel, who manages the entire intelligence system of the Round Table Hall and frequently speaks with Two Fingers, is no exception.

He, the Sir of Wisdom, hadn't heard a single word about it.

Two fingers have their own independent communication method, enabling remote control of many things.

Baizhi was aware of this matter.

Therefore, he guessed that the new king that Doublefinger mentioned might be someone that He Himself created and contacted.

That makes sense when you think about it.

Queen Marika is currently imprisoned within the Golden Tree for shattering the Elden Ring, and King Fladagan appears to have disappeared as a result. A new king is needed to stabilize the world.

To stabilize the Golden Age of Law, which was also on the verge of collapse due to the broken legal ring.

Gideon Ophniel had no idea that the Queen would shatter the Ring of Law, or rather, no one in the entire Golden Dynasty had predicted it beforehand—not even two fingers could have predicted it.

Of course, no one could have predicted that another king would be needed later.

But who will this king be?
After paying homage to the two fingers and receiving instructions, the faded ones emerged from the room through the door. Yet, each of them maintained a thoughtful expression.

And in the murky atmosphere, the faded ones were also observing each other.

A king suddenly designated by two fingers, whose identity is still unknown.

The pool of candidates is neither too large nor too small, but precisely because of this pool, no one knows who they prefer.

First and foremost, it must be made clear that the current Golden Dynasty is the most advanced ruling power in the history of the border region.

During the reign of King Fuladagan, a series of legal and ethical concepts were established, which at least brought the tribal system closer to a system of hereditary rule.

In the current border region, although the legendary qualities of the King still enjoy great popular recognition, the bloodline laws established by the Golden Clan are not empty words, and may even have more supporters.

Will the new king be a demigod from the Golden Dynasty? That's the most likely candidate.

It possesses great power and has legal justification and support.

Among the demigods, the three divine beings each possess their own laws, and they should be unable to assume the throne.

Of the remaining demigods, Prince Godwin, who was the key to all the problems and the point of explosion, had already died of soul.

All that's left are... Raccard and Rataen.

“In other words,” Dolores suddenly lowered his voice and said, “we know perfectly well that all of this is the result of a conspiracy by a demigod’s in-laws, yet in the end we are going to support one of them to ascend the throne of Elden?”

Emerging from the deepest room in the Round Table Hall, one arrives at the large conference room where the round table with the sword is placed. The flames in the fireplace lick the firewood, crackling softly. Otherwise, all is silent; Dolores's voice, though not loud, sounds like thunder in this context.

Dolores pressed his hand to the men's hunting hat on his head, a bitter smile on his lips, as if trying to hide his face with the brim of the hat.

The faded ones were all seasoned warriors and renowned heroes.

And if what Dolores said is true... their best term is nothing more than 'soft-footed shrimp'. Or, according to the customs of the border region, 'octopus eggs'.

The terrestrial octopuses in the border area devour humans in order to reproduce; their eggs are stained blood-red, the color of human blood.

Therefore, this metaphor is often used to describe people who are bullied but dare not fight back.

“What we need now is not anger,” Sir Elsa said coldly. “Stop talking nonsense, Dolores. Since Twofinger has given the order, we will obey.”

As he spoke, he glanced around his helmet, which was decorated with many ear-like structures: "We are the Faders, we are here to do this job for two fingers, aren't we?"

"Yeah, yeah," Vic muttered with a wry smile, whether in jest or self-deprecation, as he walked out of the conference room.

This knight, who holds an important position in the dragon faith of the royal city, looked somewhat frustrated, but he was probably just following orders. He's a pretty straightforward and decisive person.

The others who faded were in much the same boat. Although they were resentful, they had no intention of disobeying since the two fingers had given the order.

Furthermore, the current Golden Age of Laws... may have truly reached a perilous moment, like walking on the edge of a cliff.

Since a group of faded individuals are going to work, they should naturally go out to the independent stronghold of the round table hall.

But as soon as they stepped outside, they saw the perfumer who had come looking for them.

"Torishia?" Dolores, who was walking at the front of the group of Faded Ones, looked at her friend with concern at the gate of the fortress. "You can still move? Don't push yourself. And, what is this...?"

Torisha was pale and covered in cold sweat.

This image is now ubiquitous in Rodel, after all, the Law has broken and the Law has collapsed, and the blessings upon them are also shaken.

In fact, even now, there are not many people in the royal city of Rodel who can recover their mobility after a sudden and severe pain.

It's already surprising enough that Torisha, a perfumer who has never received combat training or pain adaptation training, is here.

What's even more surprising is what she's dragging along in her hand. "Ah! Ah~!"

Weak and feeble, yet still capable of eliciting incessant screams of intense pain from the frail voice, came from the cart that Torisia had struggled to drag over.

The faded figures following behind the woman in men's clothing frowned upon hearing the sound and came over to take a look.

But Torisha stopped the cart, panting, and ripped off her veil: "I... Dolores, I need to see Lann! Is he... is he here? He has to see this!"

At this moment, Dolores began to read more expressions on her friend's face.

She was suffering not only from the wavering of the blessing bestowed upon her, but also from fear and helplessness...

His eyes were lifeless; he probably only managed to get here by sheer willpower. His lips were trembling as he spoke.

Before Dolores could turn around in a panic and call for help, the Witcher was already standing next to the Perfumer.

His large hands covered the shoulders that, despite being covered by a thick cloak, still appeared delicate.

“I’m here, Torisha.”

Lan En's calm and gentle voice rang in the perfumer's ears.

Torisha seemed to go limp all over. She was helped to sit on the ground by Lan En. She could no longer speak, but she still raised her hand and pointed at the cart.

Beside the cart, a group of Faded Ones who had walked past Dolores had already gathered around, all with serious expressions.

Lan En stood up and looked over as well.

There was a person lying on that cart.

A person who has already suffered a fatal wound.

He was dressed in the clothes of a nobleman from the Golden Dynasty, with lime dust on his lace sleeves and collar.

These characteristics suggest that the victims were dug out of the ruins by the aftermath of the battle during the Black Knife Plot.

However, his fatal injuries were not caused by the building collapse. The collapse only broke his two femurs.

It was a knife wound that pierced his heart through a gap in his side ribs. There was no sign of him struggling or resisting.

The situation was clear, and Lan En had seen many such cases: this was a Golden Tree person from the ruins of Rodel who, after being injured, was too lazy to struggle and simply asked someone to end his life, attempting to return to the tree.

His current agonizing cries stem from his injuries; the people of the Golden Tree, living under the Golden Law, have a very low tolerance for pain.

His current weakness, expressed in his groans, comes from the knife wound that went straight to his heart, yet no blood could flow from it!

Even though this person's body could no longer pump blood... he still didn't die!
“This is absolutely fatal,” Krepp said coldly, his eyes fixed on the man’s chest on the cart. “He should be a lump of dead flesh by now!”

“But he’s not dead!” Gideon Ofnir said in a low voice, which grew even lower as if he were lost in thought. “Not dead…”

The man wasn't dead, but now he looked pleadingly at the faded figures around the cart.

He didn't beg to live; he begged to die quickly and return to the tree.

The opening from his side to his heart constantly tormented his spirit.

The pain in the heart itself is even more unbearable; even a slight irregularity in the heartbeat can cause a feeling of panic and emptiness. Yet, when a knife is plunged straight in, destroying the heart, he still manages to remain conscious.

This emptiness and discomfort in my chest is even harder to bear than the wound itself!

"Kill...kill me! Please..."

Lan En stood beside the cart, initially surprised by the man's physique.

After all, in his opinion, this person should definitely be dead!
But apart from being tormented by unbearable pain to the point that he can barely speak, he's not a lump of dead flesh!

I've already activated my [Spiritual Vision] and scanned him once.

But there was no other power within his body sustaining his life; he seemed to be simply...undying?!
Thinking of this, Lan En's expression became somewhat bewildered.

Therefore, the Witcher ignored the pleas of the people on the cart and instead asked a question to the ground behind him.

“Torisha, he…” Lann pursed his lips, “His condition…”

“Very, a lot.” Before Lan En could finish speaking, the perfumer responded with difficulty, “The clearing we made where we placed the bodies, now, now…”

Torisia paused, as if she were mentally preparing herself, before continuing, "They've all come back to life. Their bodies, all bearing fatal wounds, have awakened."

Therefore, even after the initial shock of the broken Elden Ring had subsided and the sharp, abrupt pain had eased, the rest of them were left in a state of near paralysis and spasms.

The place where Lan En had previously organized the clearing of the ruins still echoes with incessant screams.

(End of this chapter)