Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1950 1922. Bystander

Outside the cell's bars, the Witcher looked at the dazed and panicked expression on the black-knife-wielding girl's face and raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Dare not? She is the Eternal Queen, what is there to be afraid of?"

"Even if she dares! Are those two fingers huddled around the round table just going to stand by and watch her commit such an unforgivable crime?!"

This black-knife assassin, who killed [Gold] Godwin and shattered the pillar of the Golden Dynasty's stability, now seems to be filled with unwavering loyalty, rebuking Queen Marika for causing everything to collapse, and the two fingers of the Round Table for failing to stop her.

This subtle shift in stance made Lan En's eyes narrow slightly, as if he had figured something out.

Torture is unlikely to be effective against a profession like the Black Knife Assassin, whose very nature is inherently cruel.

However, the emotional fluctuations that the other party naturally reveals in their surprise, doubt, and bewilderment can serve as an important basis for judging their stance.

After letting out a low growl, Dishi, who was already weak from hunger, barely managed to lift her head and look at Lan En.

"So you came here this time to torture us?" A ruthless smile, quite in stark contrast, appeared on her otherwise plain face. "After all, we won't die no matter how much we torment us, which makes it very convenient for torture, right?"

As she spoke, she intentionally or unintentionally changed the position she was in while sitting on the ground.

The pose accentuated her body lines and her unnaturally pale skin.

Two long legs slowly opened towards the cell, the movement alluring, the expression defiant.

This level of pairing can indeed easily arouse violent sexual desires in the opposite sex.

It seems that the Black Knife Assassins in the border region, like female assassins in other worlds, have at least been taught how to use their bodies and appearances as weapons for assassination.

However, Lan En wasn't buying it.

"Save your breath. I don't like torture, and I'm not an expert in using it. Your business is none of my concern."

As he spoke, the Witcher playfully tapped the gate with his knuckles. He then took a step back, disappearing into the shadows once more.

"Besides, I didn't come here to see you."

Dishi's expression stiffened, but she could only stay inside the pillar of light, watching helplessly as the only person who had spoken to her during this time left.

After leaving the Black Knife's prison, Lan En continued walking inside.

But then a cluster of pale blue light gathered behind him and transformed into a young girl.

Melina, wrapped in a cloak, seemed to have been walking alongside Lann the whole time, trailing him by half a step.

“Those black knives,” Melina’s calm, even voice sounded almost eerie in the dark underground prison, “what value do they still have?”

“No value? How can you say that?” Lan En first looked down at Melina with some surprise. “Besides, even if it really has no value, chatting for a few minutes won’t hurt.”

This 'little blockhead' actually cares about those black knives? That's a bit strange.

However, Melina ignored Lann's surprise: "You already know who Black Knife is, don't you? What value do these prisoners have besides this information? They are only good for public execution within the Golden Dynasty to quell anger and establish authority."

"But now, even the Golden Law has collapsed, let alone their trivial matters."

“Yes, we know that Princess Lani of the Moon was the mastermind behind the Night of the Black Blade.” Lann did not deny this. “However, the execution of the Night of the Black Blade shows that it could not have been accomplished simply by ‘someone coming up with a plan and handing it over to their subordinates.’”

“If Lani’s men were that capable, wouldn’t she just have someone kill Godwin? Why bother with assassination? Assassination requires planning and coordination. Her forces alone couldn’t accomplish that.”

The surrounding lighting conditions remained poor, and the sound of dripping water began to appear, possibly indicating a break in the royal city's pipes.

Lan En and Melina continued walking down the corridor.

"Since the execution of this plan was pieced together from one company after another, then besides Lani, the planner, whose people are the others working for?"

"Does this still concern you?" Melina asked calmly. "Right now, the border area is in such chaos that nobody cares anymore."

"It doesn't really matter, but try to gather more information first." The Witcher shrugged. "In most cases, knowing more is always better than knowing less."

“Since these black-knife assassins were captured, they have shown no concern whatsoever for Lani’s situation. Even though I, a witness who saw Lani with my own eyes, am standing right here, they don’t care.”

"This means they are not Lani's people."

"However, when I mentioned the incident with the Elden Ring, they visibly became anxious and alarmed. This shows that they still hold the Elden Ring and the system built upon it in high esteem."

Lann asserted, "Their hostility is directed only at the Golden Dynasty, or rather, the Golden Law."

"From beginning to end, their assassinations were only intended to cause the Golden Law to collapse, thereby leading to the collapse of the Golden Dynasty."

"And their disdain for Queen Marika, their condemnation of the Two Fingers of the Round Table for their dereliction of duty... Hmm, I can probably guess." Lan En explained his speculation to Melina with great interest: "The Black Knife Assassin must be serving the Two Fingers who chose Lani."

The Elden Ring is the "Principle of the World's Operation," upon which various laws can operate. The Elden Ring itself is eternal and unchanging, but the alternation of laws is not unprecedented.

Using two fingers, search for the divine being who bears the law. After selecting the divine being, support them in their struggle for the divine throne. The divine being who ultimately succeeds will be able to transform the law they bear into a law that covers the entire world through the magic ring, and will also be elevated to godhood.

These things are all within the Elden Ring and Golden Tree system, and are reasonable and normal.

The belief system of this world can be said to be a large framework based on the Elden Ring.

Within this larger framework, each pair of fingers selects a different law, and they fight each other. Whoever wins will dominate an era.

Therefore, Lani's two fingers supporting her assassination of Godwin is entirely reasonable and legal within the broader framework.

From the perspective of the Golden Dynasty, this is obviously a case of 'the demigod [Princess of the Moon] colluding with her maternal relatives, the demigod, to launch a rebellion'.

However, from the perspective of the higher-level Dharma-divine system, this is simply a normal conflict in which Lani's two fingers support her own deity in the struggle for the divine position she desires.

However, this legitimacy from the perspective of the Ring of Laws-Gods system completely failed once Queen Marika smashed the Ring of Laws!

After all, all the fighting is still within the larger framework of the Elden Ring faith! Ultimately, we're all people from the same system!

But how could you, Marika, destroy the very foundation, the most important, and the most supreme Elden Ring itself?!

Queen Marika smashed the magic ring, and Lann was certain that even Lani's two fingers would never have imagined such a thing could happen.

This woman looks completely insane!

But at the same time, Lann himself always had a feeling—Queen Marika, such a beautiful and terrifying woman… she couldn’t possibly be insane.

But why did she have to go to such extremes?

After meticulously examining the Black Knife Assassins' actions and observing the current situation, and unraveling the underlying threads of faith hidden beneath the surface of the border region, Lann found himself even less able to understand Queen Marika's actions.

What was her purpose in doing this?

Melina looked at the Witcher who was deep in thought, opened her mouth, paused, and then spoke as if to comfort him.

“For figures like Queen Marika, every decisive moment, the layers of their thinking, the multifaceted impact... even those who accompany them every day cannot fully understand it unless they are themselves. They can only be considered bystanders in the history they created.”

As she spoke, Melina's figure vanished in a pristine blue light, and the girl's light footsteps disappeared as well.

Lan En had already arrived in front of his target cell.

In that cell was another man, also disarmed. Only he was a strong man.

His face looked somewhat weathered, and he sat upright inside the suppressing beam of light.

This is the Forge Knight who came from the Volcano Mansion.

As soon as he reached the cell, Lan En's eyes became deep and unfathomable as he stared intently at the seated figure of the other person.

The Forge Knight merely glanced up to see who it was before continuing to sit still.

This wasn't actually the first time the two had met like this.

Back when the Forge Knights had just been defeated and captured by Lann, he had not yet been imprisoned in the underground dungeon, but was temporarily detained and interrogated in the Hall of the Round Table.

The Witcher had already visited him many times.

In the following days, Lann even suggested that he wanted to fight the Forge Knight a few more times.

Unfortunately, after being captured, the Forge Knights showed no further intention of making a move, ignoring Lann's invitation and simply shaking their heads in refusal.

Even when Lann said that as long as he fought, the chief interrogator who came with the Forge Knight would receive better imprisonment conditions, it still didn't work.

So Lann realized that this Forge Knight might have people or things he cared about, but they certainly weren't here.

So he could only use a 'clumsy method' and rely on inefficiently grinding away time to make observations.

On his retina, a chart, formed by in-depth observations by [Spirit Vision] and data compilation by Mentos, is slowly taking shape.

And the style of that chart, as it was added to and outlined, became increasingly similar to the emblem that appeared when the Forge Knights invoked prayers and rallied their power—

Emblems belonging to the [Initial Golden Tree]!

(End of this chapter)