Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1974, 1946. For Your Own Good
In other words, given Godwin and Michaela's relationship, if Lani were to let things drift as they were, it would be almost certain that she would become the most devastating figure of her time.

The relationship between gods and humans, and the laws they bear, is very complex.

There are those like Mylene, who are tormented by their own laws to the point of resisting and hating them.

But more often than not, they have come to accept the principles represented by the laws that govern them, on all levels of body, mind, and spirit.

This is not even a state that a mere 'believer' could describe.

Considering that once those laws successfully operate on the Elden Ring, they will instantly become part of the "Principles of the World's Operation".

The state of these divine beings is more like that of those who have "merged themselves with the Tao."

The law is part of the 'Tao' of this world, but it was brought to the divine beings, who hoped that they could successfully bring it to the Elden Ring.

For someone who has "merged with the Dao," it is only natural to value the Dao they bear more than their soul or life.

Lann guessed that rather than letting Lani admit and accept her defeat, and let her laws fail, she would probably rather tear everything apart!
The current situation! Tear the golden dynasty to shreds!

Therefore, with no way out and no possibility of defeat, Godwin, the referee who could decide the outcome and already had a clear bias, had to die!
After he dies, how will the gods and humans fight and compete? Will Lani have a chance? These are things we can discuss later.

But as long as Godwin lives, Lani has no chance at all.

Based on Lan En's brief encounter with her: the Moon Princess, that female demigod with fiery red hair, does possess a certain ruthlessness.

Marlene is coming to Rodel because of Godwin's death to learn more about the situation, while the still young Michaela stays at the base that she and her brother have built, the [Sacred Tree] Abrafiel.

Subsequently, Malenia's hostility towards Rodel stemmed primarily from the Blessed King's ascension to the throne.

Although the Blessed King possesses the centrally located fragment of the magic ring to prove his legitimate lineage from the Golden Clan.

But this kind of proof can only make you look impressive in front of outsiders.

As members of the same high class, how could demigods possibly expect this thing to subdue people?

In the eyes of the demigods, the Blessed King, who appeared out of nowhere, was suspicious enough.

Without even showing his face, he declared his royal power?

This is completely against the rules and the law!

Therefore, Marleneia harbors hostility towards the current Rodel.

This hostility is quite reasonable.

However, after Lan En dissected the problem, he realized that it wasn't entirely hopeless.

After all, once it is proven that Godwin's death was caused by a demigod relative, then even though Malenia doesn't like the Blessed King who has rashly declared himself king, she shouldn't help Lacad anymore.

It is entirely possible to make her stand idly by.

Moreover, with such a renowned demigod watching from the sidelines, neither side in the war would dare to make the battle too brutal.

Lann had little interest in the demigod infighting within the Golden Dynasty, but he was happy if it could help control the intensity of the war.

The hinges of the 'Karara' machine tightened, and the gate from Sunshade City to the poisonous swamp outside was opened.

Marlene, standing in the courtyard of Sunshade City, walked straight outside without any delay.

Finley, who was behind her, and the other Dignity Knights immediately followed.

For a moment, the clanging sound of boots hitting the ground could be heard incessantly.

No one informed Lann, but the Witcher could keenly sense that someone was staring at his neck.

“Ha,” Lann chuckled lightly, as if a blade were pressed against his Adam’s apple. “Let’s go, Mare Mare. I’ve left you a formula; you might as well give it a try until you find a new, trustworthy perfumer.”

He spoke without any hesitation.

The Witcher released his hand from the Lord of Sunshade, straightened up, and waved his hand towards the surrounding area of ​​the castle. With a carefree and natural air, he rode the Qilin and caught up with the Venerable Knights who had already left the city gate.

His carefree and unpretentious demeanor made the residents of Sunshade City, who had previously dared not look down at the revered knight and demigod, involuntarily wave in response.

The Holy Tree Legion arrived in Rodel by sea, without bringing many pack animals with them.

Although Mare Mare worshipped Marlene, there weren't many warhorses or packhorses in the city of Sunshade.

They were all lined up at the back to be used for transporting supplies and logistics.

As a result, Marlenia and the Knights of the Fallen could only walk on two legs.

The demigod and her royal guard of knights possessed a crimson corruption that was one of the most terrifying forces in the world, so the toxicity of the poisonous swamp was barely noticeable to them.

The ranks of the Holy Tree Legion were stretched out in a long, winding line.

Marlenia had already walked out of the poisonous swamp from the gates of Sunshade City and stepped onto the golden land of the Altan Plateau.

Further north in Sunshade City, the members of the Holy Tree Legion were still making their way from the sea to the shore through the port passage.

Lan En lagged a few steps behind as the Holy Tree soldiers helping to drive the carriage pulled the wheels out of the poisonous swamp.

He, riding a horse, stood out conspicuously as he rode past the long, serpentine procession of the demigods. The Qilin rubbed its hooves, stained dark green by the poisonous swamp, on the golden ground.

Its activity caused Lann's position to fluctuate between being close to and far from the long serpentine column of the Holy Tree Legion, sometimes in front and sometimes behind.

If Marlenia, who was walking at the front, hadn't kept herself at a certain distance, she probably would have suddenly appeared in front of people and started chopping them up!
Lan En told her that he had evidence of the real culprit behind the Black Knife Night, but the evidence was mainly in Rodley.

At this moment, Lan En has essentially staked his life on this.

At that moment, the Qilin leaped onto the top of a collapsed and fallen ruin.

Standing atop the ruins of an ancient sky structure, Lan En watched as the Holy Tree soldiers marched past in a long line.

The soldiers of the Sacred Tree were mostly devout believers, constantly reciting the teachings of the Golden Law even while marching. The pure gold on their equipment and weapons gleamed faintly.

"Meow?"

The velvet ball, which had been sitting behind Lan En and constantly tidying up his luggage, felt a sense of pressure.

After letting out a puzzled cry, it jumped onto the Witcher's shoulder and looked back.

Blue light spots gathered and dispersed, and Melina sat diagonally on the back of the Qilin.

She seemed to deliberately avoid looking at the Sacred Tree Legion, thus appearing facing the other side.

"This is what you call 'diplomatic means'?"

Although she didn't look, the one-eyed lady seemed to know exactly what had happened. She asked in a calm and indifferent voice.

“You’re really clever. I didn’t expect you to be able to calm Marlenia down so easily, even though she was already preparing to go to war.”

“Seek common ground while reserving differences.” Lan En was not surprised by Melina’s appearance. He stroked the Qilin’s mane. “Find the minimum common ground, and then continuously adapt and coordinate the things that are difficult to reach an agreement on through negotiation. In Marlenia’s opinion, this approach is not bad.”

Marlenia's main objective is to find out who killed the man in the Black Knife Night in order to determine the enemy's position.

Lan En didn't want her to join the demigod alliance.

Once both parties meet the minimum requirements, the rest can be discussed.

Melina, who was sitting diagonally in the back, leaned forward, her pretty face, with only her right eye open, looking at Lan En from behind.

"Seeking common ground while reserving differences sounds simple. But in border areas, few people can actually do it. Your performance... is quite remarkable."

"Really?" Lan En said dismissively. "I once met an old tortoise who said that everything can combine and integrate."

Melina calmly retorted, "That was back in the Crucible era."

The Witcher shrugged. "By the way, can you call out Toret?"

"how?"

The girl's voice was as soft as a breeze.

"I think I should try to curry favor with this demigod. Otherwise, she might make things difficult for me along the way." The witcher glanced at the long, thin queue below, stroked his chin, and said with a smile, "Could you ask Toret to give her a ride for a while? Souls aren't afraid of Crimson Corruption, are they?"

But the girl refused decisively: "No."

"what?"

Lan En was somewhat surprised, but when he turned to look, the girl had already turned into a speck of light and disappeared, leaving behind only a sentence of unclear meaning.

"Toret...it's best if the demigods don't see him. For your own good, Lann."

The Witcher raised an eyebrow, a noncommittal smile on his face.

The fluffy ball perched on his shoulder, curiously stretching its paws towards the empty back of the Qilin, scratching at the air.

'For my own good'...

Sure enough, both the spirit horse Torret and Melina had their own secrets.

Lan En wasn't stupid. At first, he thought Melina might be a poor, unlucky noblewoman whose soul was stuck in an awkward situation during the Night of the Black Knife.

However, as Melina's omniscience became more apparent during their conversations, he knew that this was unlikely to be the level of knowledge a noblewoman from a golden dynasty possessed.

External deities, divine laws... these are things that no one but the highest-ranking figures should know.

But Melina didn't want to say what Lan En could do to a soul like her.

The Qilin jumped down from the collapsed ruins, snorted, and reluctantly walked to a position parallel to the Venerable Knights.

Marlenia didn't say much along the way, while the physiques of the Dignified Knights resembled those of seriously ill patients, needing to support themselves with their long-handled weapons while walking.

The journey that Lan En and Qilin completed in a short time took the Holy Tree Legion more than a week to complete on foot.

When they finally reached the vicinity of Rodel, the Holy Tree Legion, as well as Lann and Marlenia, all stopped and gazed at the golden tree that stretched to the sky and the magnificent city at its foot.

as well as……

On that golden land outside the city, there were enormous, illusory spirit banners, some dozens of stories high, that appeared at some unknown time and in countless numbers!
(End of this chapter)