Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2064 2036. Karma
The Sacred Moonlight Sword left a melodious hum in mid-air after its flourish, along with specks of light resembling bioluminescent plankton in the ocean.

Against the backdrop of these gracefully dancing specks of light, the Witcher's smile appeared even more 'unstoppable'.

Leilana had already sheathed both swords in their respective scabbards at her waist, but her hands were still resting on them in a basic state of alert.

But at that moment, she still unconsciously made her glove clench with a 'click' sound.

Lan En's expression remained unchanged, because he could tell that the other party's sudden tension was not due to drawing a sword, but merely a subconscious reaction.

After a flurry of swordplay, the Sacred Moonlight Sword came to a precise and graceful stop in Lan En's hands.

His right hand gripped the hilt of the sword, while his left hand held the blade, which resembled flowing crystal, and he placed it flat in front of Leilana in a 'presented' posture.

At the same time, Lan En was still speaking sincere words.

"But going back to the question you just asked me, first of all, I've never even met your sister, Queen Renara, let alone had anything happen between us... Wait, do you know that Queen Renara is divorced?"

By the time the Shadowlands were sealed away, the Golden Tree and the Kalia royal family had already formed a marriage alliance.

In other words, Laylana definitely knew about her sister's marriage to "Redhead" Rdagan, after all, she and Messermo were only the second couple.

She just blurted out "Princess of the Moon" Lani, believing that she was also qualified to give someone a moonlight sword as a token of love.

This means that when she was sealed in the Shadow Land, all the demigods from the maternal relatives had already been born.

However, Gofule, who was originally the King of Elden, was later expelled from the borderlands, and Radagan abandoned his wife and children to return to Rodel to marry Queen Marika—which now appears to be a marriage between himself and himself—a fact she was probably unaware of.

"Divorce? No, I don't know." The Twin Moon Knight still stammered, using his voice, which hadn't been used to communicating with anyone for a long time, to adjust to the rhythm of his speech.

Her fingers rested gently on the sacred moonlight sword held by Lan En's hands, as if she were reminiscing or appreciating it.

“But I didn’t have a good impression of Radagan. He was too…rational and utilitarian. Just like the Golden Law-based fundamentalism he pioneered.”

The implication is that, as the younger sister, she doesn't actually approve of her older sister's marriage.

However, this doesn't really affect anything. After all, as the Queen of the Full Moon of the Kalia royal family, she has an obligation to resolve issues through marriage.

Regardless of the circumstances of the marriage partner, the marriage must proceed.

The Caria royal family was no match for the Golden Dynasty; the stalemate was only achieved because they were facing a legion led by Radagan.

Gavre and his main force never stayed in Lienia.

If the fighting continued, the Kalia royal family at the time could not afford to drag it out.

In the first Battle of Lienia, the Carian royal family emerged victorious, and [Red Hair] Radagan became a hero.

The Second Battle of Lienia was a stalemate between Gold and the Moon, and this was the only opportunity to secure the best possible outcome.

Rena La lived up to her reputation as a hero, accurately seizing the opportunity to facilitate the peace talks and marriage between the Gold Saints and the Moon Saints.

Now that she heard that her sister had gotten divorced, Leilana's tone even sounded somewhat unsurprised and relieved.

However, Lan En didn't dare tell Queen Full Moon about her current situation after her divorce... or rather, after being abandoned.

According to what he heard in the town in front of the academy in Realucalia, Queen Renara had lost her mind and was no longer a hero because she had been abandoned.

Lera didn't approve of this marriage, but she poured all her feelings into it.

"So, this was made for you by Lani?" This time, before Lann could deny it, Leilana denied it herself. "No, Lani's moon doesn't feel like that."

The Kalia royal family's research and pursuit of the moon is so ancient that its origins are difficult to trace, and the moon's influence is deeply rooted in the royal family.

Leilana could feel the deep, ancient, and lonely power within the Sacred Moonlight Sword simply by touching it with her hand.

Lani's moon is a cold, dark moon, which does not match this description.

"That's what I wanted to say, ma'am."

Lan En put down the Sacred Moonlight Sword he was holding, and with a flick of his hand, a 'hum' sound was emitted. The crystal-clear, wide blade immediately shattered into countless points of light, which floated a short distance before dissipating into nothingness.

The luster that had spread out from the blade faded, leaving only the original blade itself.

A cold, hard, and well-made hand-and-a-half sword, with mottled bandages still wrapped around the hilt and the half of the blade near the base.

Lann stared directly at the other's helmet: "I haven't had much contact with Lani either... To be honest, I think you might have misunderstood. I'm not familiar with the entire Kalia royal family. Of course, it's certain that we weren't hostile when we came looking for us."

"And we don't know why your Black Knights would betray you and carry out an assassination."

After all, judging from the gun barrels used for piercing torture standing at the city gate, neither of you looks like a good person.

Of course, Lann didn't say the last sentence aloud. He held up the Holy Moonlight Sword, now devoid of power, for Leilana to see, then braced his hands on the sword's weights, holding the half-sword upright in front of him.

They seemed to be waiting for the other party to make a decision.

To be honest, he was actually quite interested in sparring with Leilana.

But the Twin Moon Knights did not give him that chance.

After glancing down at the sword standing before Lan En, she shook her head.

"'Not familiar with the Kalia royal family'?" She repeated Lann's words in a low voice, but laughed out loud inside her helmet. "You seem to underestimate the connection between the Kalia royal family and the moon."

"Only the head of the Caria royal family can forge the Moonlight Sword. This is not only a custom, but also the cause and destiny of the Caria royal family."

“It is true that I do not recognize the moon that the sword in your hand represents. But without a doubt, this sword, and you who hold it, are already part of the destiny of the Kalia royal family.”

As a member of the Kalia royal family, Leilana immediately started talking about the secrets of their royal family.

The sky over Shadowlands was still dark. The hall had been cleaved open, but most of the walls remained intact, with the banners of the Holy War Army and Laylana's personal banner hanging on them.

As always, the banners of Caria carried the ornate and luxurious beauty and nobility of the Baroque style.

On the ground, the four black knights, each in a different pose, added a sense of bloodshed and desolation to the already gloomy and shadowy sky.

In such a setting with a strong Western medieval style, it seems a bit off that Leilana keeps talking about 'cause and effect' and 'reason and cause'.

After all, this concept is often closer to Buddhist and Taoist culture in the Eastern context.

But this is normal in border areas.

Cause and effect, destiny—these are forces that can be directly encountered on dangerous battlefields and in everyday conspiracies in this world of war between gods and demons.

Putting aside everything else, the night of the Black Knife conspiracy was when Lani found the logical loophole in the Golden Law, killed Godwin, and directly caused a logical fallacy, leading to the collapse of the Golden Dynasty and the laws of the world overnight.

The Golden Law, which was pioneered and promoted by Ladagan, has two fundamental principles: the principle of causality and the principle of regression.

Their theological and magical studies had long since reached this level.

As a major magical force in the border region, the Kalia royal family's ability to observe and even interfere with their own destiny is not unfounded.

Leilana didn't say anything more about the Holy Moonlight Sword.

Seemingly well aware of the cause and effect of the fate of the Kalia royal family, even though she did not recognize the moonlight on the sword, once she confirmed that it was the Moonlight Sword, she already regarded Lann as someone whose fate was connected with that of a certain Kalia royal family leader.

So, even though she heard that Lann and the others wanted to meet with Messermo, Leilana hesitated for a moment with slight difficulty before agreeing.

Leilana personally began to dispose of the body of the Black Knight she had just killed.

She didn't want these traitors to taint her Moon-Viewing Pool.

Another theory suggests that although they now call themselves the Holy War Army, they are actually severely understaffed. This is not only because some of the Black Knights have rebelled, but also because of the natural depletion caused by the Shadowlands.

As Melina said, this land is where the Golden Law was first lost. The inability to die even when one wants to has driven too many people to the brink of collapse.

It is said that those whose bodies were most severely damaged had lost their human form and turned into a soft lump of flesh, like a slime, amidst the decay and disability of their bodies.

However, this is still better than those characters who are just shadows.

It's quite a contrast to see the female knight, who was wielding her twin swords with the imposing presence of a war goddess, now doing manual labor.

After eliminating the four Black Knights, Lan En and his group noticed that Leilana was giving the last Black Knight who had attacked her a close look.

He then shook his head and personally led Lan En and the others out of Ensis City from the high place, into the Shadow Altar region, and headed towards Shadow City where Messermo was located.

On the way, Lan En asked about the last black knight.

“It’s not unimaginable. He is indeed a Black Knight loyal to the Holy War Army,” Leilana said, glancing at the others around her, “but that only applies before he sees you.”

As the Twin Moon Knight walked, she stroked the Qilin's mane.

The innate awe-inspiring and elegant racial temperament of the ancient dragons of the New World seemed to be a big plus in the eyes of the 'like-minded' members of the Kalia royal family.

“You come from the borderlands, where the light of the golden tree, which now only exists in dreams, has blinded you. In the Shadowlands, even if it costs everything, people want to return to the Altan Plateau, just to bask in the glorious light of the golden tree.”

"In their eyes, you might represent a gateway. Even if the chances are slim, it's still dazzling enough in the Shadowlands."

(End of this chapter)