Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1939 1911. The Knight Who Lost His Homeland
“Those knights should now be called ‘Knights of the Lost Lands’.”

Melina gathered her cloak and stood on the majestic city wall of Rodel, explaining softly to Lann beside her.

"Now?" The plush ball, perched on the crenellations along the city wall, turned its head curiously and asked, "Why do you say that, meow?"

This is a simple question that doesn't require Melina, the 'encyclopedia', to answer.

Lan En can solve it.

The Witcher leaned against the city wall in front of him, looking down at the situation: "The Knight of the Lost Land was originally a knight under the Storm King who ruled the Nymgford region. At the end of the War of the Giants, the Storm King, driven to the brink, challenged the [First King] Govre to a duel."

"They fought at the border between Nymgford and Galid Fields. The Storm King was killed on the spot, but he saved the lives of his knights."

"But even so, they were still defeated knights who had lost their lord. They had nowhere to call home. That's what it means to be a knight who has lost his homeland."

"A large number of knights accepted their status as defeated soldiers and remained in Nymgford, serving the new rulers of Nymgford sent by the Golden Dynasty. Others, however, could not accept this and truly began to wander the borderlands, making a living by selling their strength."

“But in any case,” Melina added softly, “whether by choice or by force, the moment they were defeated, they were already enveloped and blessed by the Golden Law. They are also the people of the Golden Tree.”

"The Golden Law operates on the Elden Ring, so it's perfectly normal for it to cover the world." Lann wasn't surprised by this. "But the power of these lost knights... seems quite interesting."

Every move he made seemed to stir up a whirlwind; given Lan En's martial arts skills, which were already worthy of being called 'martial arts,' this performance was purely technical.

It wasn't through prayer, magic, or any supernatural power.

The whistling sound around the lost knights came from the techniques they had practiced.

This technique offers comprehensive control over airflow.

In Lann's martial arts origins, the Ashina style can easily create air blades, and the Senpou Temple style can generate air hammers.

This constituted his own method of air manipulation, which later developed into the [Water Sword] system, containing many moves that were expanded upon based on these techniques.

Most of the time, airflow blades are used to expand the killing range and deepen the killing effect.

However, the technology's origins suggest that its ability to control air blades is quite limited.

Unlike these knights who have lost their homeland, they don't make a fuss over almost every move they make.

Although Lan En wasn't entirely sure of his potential due to a lack of hands-on experience or battles against the Lost Knights, he still appreciated its versatility.

"That's the [Storm Combat Technique] that has been passed down since ancient times within Stoneville Castle, which ruled the Nymgford region."

As always, Miss Melina seemed to need no time to process what she was going to say; she delivered a clear and definite introduction as soon as she opened her mouth.

"The Storm King has been allied with the Stormhawks and the Ancient Dragons since ancient times. He and his warriors have thus learned to wield storms. It was because Golfre was conquering Nymgford that the Ancient Dragons launched a surprise attack on Rodel for the sake of this long-time ally, thus beginning the Ancient Dragon War."

"Do you see the small ancient dragon statues that adorn the helmets of those knights from the lost homeland? That's a symbol of alliance."

"As for the later alliance between Gu Long and the Golden Dynasty, did these knights who had lost their homes harbor any resentment...?"

Lan En rarely saw Melina's face show a brief look of contemplation.

But then she gently shook her head.

"It's hard to say whether the ancient dragons on the Yatan Plateau failed first, or whether the Storm King of Nymgford couldn't hold on first. But in any case, it can be said that both sides were conquered by the Golden Dynasty at the same time."

"They were allies before, and were later conquered by the same dynasty. They shouldn't have any resentment towards each other, and might even have some mutual respect."

After saying that, Melina turned to look at Lan En and gave him a serious reminder.

"If you fight them, don't just look at their dazzling storm combat techniques. Also pay attention to the power they obtain from the [Dragon Feast]."

【Dragon Feast】is a shortcut for people in this world to gain power.

"Xiang" means feast or banquet. Simply put, it means to eat.

Dragon feasting is not about feeding dragons to gain their favor.

Instead, they made people eat dragons!

By consuming the dragon's heart at the ritual altar, one can gain the dragon's power!
The simple idea that you are what you eat, and that you get your strength from food, also applies to dragons.

"Aren't they on good terms with the ancient dragons?" Lann asked, tapping his finger lightly on the stone wall of the city. "Then why are they eating dragon hearts to gain power?"

Melina nodded: "They have a good relationship with the ancient dragons, which is why they are so eager to perform the Dragon Offering Ritual. After all, the Dragon Offering Ritual uses the hearts of dragons." "Ancient dragons are living, immortal rocks; they don't have organs like hearts. Only dragons, being flesh and blood creatures, have hearts covered with jagged fragments of stone, still bearing the power characteristics of their close relatives, the ancient dragons."

"Isn't a flying dragon a dragon too?" the fluffy ball turned its head and asked, puzzled. "It's good to be on good terms with ancient dragons, so it's okay to eat flying dragon hearts, meow?"

Before Melina could answer the velvet ball's question, Lann spoke up: "Ancient dragons and flying dragons are only close relatives. They are related in a way, but who knows, they might not get along?"

"Putting aside everything else, in this city of Rodel alone, haven't we witnessed a scene of fratricide right before our eyes during this period?"

Godwin was Queen Marika's son, so he was naturally a rare person.

The black-knife assassin who attacked him was also a rare individual. Even Lani, the "Moon Princess" who ordered the black-knife assassin to act, inherited the rare bloodline of Radagan.

The Night of the Black Knife Conspiracy was essentially a stage for rare individuals to kill each other.

Let alone close relatives like ancient dragons and flying dragons, even among people of the same race like rare people, when it comes to fighting each other, who would hold back?
Melina neither confirmed nor denied Lann's statement, but seemed to lower her head slightly.

However, Ms. Wood still offered a little something to add.

"It is said that the conflict between the ancient dragons and the flying dragons originated from a rebellion. The king of the ancient dragons was originally the first King of Elden, but after that rebellion, he disappeared without a trace."

"Later, the ancient dragons hunted dragons like madmen. Still finding it inefficient, they simply developed the Dragon Offering Ritual. Using the power of the dragons as bait, they lured any life that craved the power of the dragons to hunt them."

This practice demonstrates that former close relatives are now enemies who wish to exterminate each other's entire clan.

I have no idea what the dragons did in their rebellion.

But history really does come full circle.

Lan En looked out from between the battlements at the orderly military formation in the distance.

The ancient Dragon King was rebelled against by his close relatives, the flying dragons, leading to the decline of his royal power. And now, the even more powerful, even to the point of achieving an eternal golden dynasty, has also taken a sharp turn for the worse in this short period of time.

It looks like they're about to start fighting from within.

This is precisely what Lan En found interesting about history when he was still in school.

Footsteps sounded behind me. The wide, thick walls of Rodel were wide enough for several carriages to run side by side.

When Lan En turned around, the girl with light reddish-brown hair had disappeared without a trace, leaving only some specks of light floating in mid-air, which also quickly vanished.

As darkness fell, squads of Rodel soldiers, each carrying a torch, patrolled back and forth along the city walls.

Originally, ever since the death of the Golden Prince's soul on the night of the Black Knife, the entire defense system of Rodel had been on high alert.

Now that they're actually facing an enemy army at the city gates, they seem relieved.

Rodel, the capital of the Golden Dynasty, has also truly experienced the ravages of war. After all, at the beginning of the Golden Dynasty's establishment, it was basically at odds with all the forces on the border, yet it was still able to occupy this precious land at the foot of the Golden Tree as its capital.

It can be said that they fought against everyone they could.

The defenders of Rhodes could not possibly lack experience and courage. Now that the hammer has finally fallen, they only need to act normally, following the precedent set for hundreds and thousands of years.

"You're here, Lann."

Dolores's voice rang out amidst the ranks of golden Rodel knights and Rodel soldiers.

The woman dressed as a man jogged over, her face grave.

Seeing this expression, Lan En roughly knew what was going on. But he still asked what the outcome of the negotiations at the foot of the city wall had been.

“We can’t reach an agreement.” Dolores stated bluntly and without hesitation, “Laccard and Goffia both demand that the Blessed King personally confront them, or at least clarify his identity. But we all know…”

The Blessed King didn't even show his face on the day of his coronation, and he was strongly supported by the two traitors. Why would he suddenly appear to meet two 'traitors' at this time?
Dolores didn't say the rest of her sentence, but looking at Lann's calm face, she knew he understood.

The conflict between the royal city and the legions outside the city is irreconcilable, and neither side is willing to back down.

"The demigod Gavya gave Rodel a month to consider," Dolores said, his face still showing no sign of relief, "but whether he shows it to me or not, it's all the same; we'll fight sooner or later. From now on, it's wartime. You're also a Faded One, so I won't say more. Just like during the War of the Titans, is that alright?"

In fact, military operations emphasize speed, and the fact that Gough was able to offer such a generous condition as a month meant that his troops were still arriving from Nymgford.

Basically, the people of the Golden Tree have had their sense of time worn down to the point of apathy during the Golden Law era, which is why they can finally speak of it.

Otherwise, if both sides are preparing for war, why would the general just say, "Give the other side a month to consider"?
(End of this chapter)