Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2070, page 2042: Shocking News

“That’s none of your business… Ha, Faded One.” Messermo chuckled expressionlessly. “Mother arranged everything for you, but I never imagined you would actually come this far.”

“This doesn’t sound like he’s talking about those who weren’t blessed before the end of the War of the Giants, sir.” Mentos immediately grasped the deeper meaning in Messermo’s words and reminded Lann, “There’s an 89% chance he’s referring to the group of exiled Sir Hundred’s who lost their blessing.”

In other words, the decision to banish the First King along with his legions at the end of the War of the Giants was something Queen Marika had made long ago.

Otherwise, Messermo, who was sealed in the Shadowlands as early as the middle of the Titan War, would not have known what happened in the outside world at the very end of the Titan War.

"It seems that even after Michaela investigated for so long, she still couldn't see through the chaotic and complex Shadowlands."

Torina, visible only to the Witcher, floated beside him and uttered an ethereal sigh.

But now was the time to negotiate with Messermo, a key figure. Lann kept his eyes straight ahead, as if he hadn't heard anything, and continued to stare into the other's golden pupils.

Lann discovered that Messermo's eyes were quite different from those of ordinary people blessed with gold.

In the border region, even Queen Marika's blood relatives only differed in their individual characteristics, but the golden light in their eyes was actually quite similar to that of the others.

However, Messermo's right eye was very different; it didn't have a pupil, but instead only a pattern.

—The overall shape is 'T', except that the top horizontal line has become an upward-opening curved arc.

This pattern is not uncommon; it appears to refer to Queen Marika, and is found near many churches and distinctive ruins in the border region.

The thought process happened in an instant, and Lan En's performance was incredibly smooth, as if the previous complex thoughts had never existed.

He first took a small step forward, which highlighted his position as the person in charge and attracted Messermo's attention, while the subtle control of distance prevented him from arousing hostility or wariness.

A sense of proportion is a difficult but crucial aspect to grasp during negotiations.

Fortunately, Lan En's mastery of this skill can be described as both talent and artistry.

He easily achieved his goal by creating the right atmosphere in the conversation.

Messermo's gaze was fixed on him, while the flame-patterned spear in his hand remained motionless.

"We entered the Shadowlands by accident, Lord Messermo."

The Witcher spoke methodically, as if he hadn't heard the other's mournful sneer at the word 'faded one'.

"But now, we want to leave Shadowlands. Do you have any way to do that?"

"A way out?" A clear, cold voice spoke, and the winged serpent on Messermo's body wriggled. "We are a group of people who were sealed in the Shadowlands. You've entered the seal, yet you come to ask those inside if there's a way out?"

Margarita and Melina stood together, and Margarita slightly nudged the velvet ball with her leg.

Upon closer inspection, the red snake coiled around the other person appeared to be a two-headed snake, its slender body swaying like a ribbon.

A snake head on the shoulder looked at Lann alongside Messermo, while another snake head near the calf flicked its tongue, observing the calico kitten.

On the other hand, the shape and movements of the winged snake seemed to have triggered its hunting instincts.

Therefore, the kitten's paws were already peeking out from its paw pads, and its spine was beginning to twitch in a subtle, dancing manner.

The velvet ball only calmed down when Margarita's full, powerful legs blocked it. It then snorted "tsk" at the snake's head.

Winged Serpent: ? ? ?

"Is it that you don't have it, or that you don't want to say, or that you can't say?" Lan En didn't feel hopeless because of the other party's flat refusal. Instead, he continued to negotiate without any impact.

"Do these three situations make any difference to you, the faded one?"

"The first one is no different, but the latter two... since we can stand here and talk without weapons, doesn't that mean there's some room for negotiation?"

Taking the other party's first rejection as their final decision is a common mistake made by novices in the negotiation process.

“I haven’t killed you, which is already a way of repaying you by not being hostile.” Messermo turned away coldly. “Don’t expect to get anything more from me, even if you are people brought by Laylana.”

It seemed he wanted to return to the high platform deep in the hall and continue his meditation, which had been going on for who knows how long.

“In fact, I personally tend to think you just don’t want to say.” Lann ignored Messermo’s indifference. “After all, a child who knows so much before Queen Marika smashed the Ring of Elden, or even before the War of the Giants was over, the Queen couldn’t possibly not care about you, right?”

"What did you say?"

The gasp came from Leilana, accompanied by the sound of her armor rattling as she shuddered.

Even the Kalia royal family, which has been associated with the moon for generations, did not have a divine being who could bear the law in her generation, and naturally had no ambition to reach the top of the magic circle.

However, she also clearly understood what the Elden Ring represented. And those who understood the Ring's status and power were increasingly shocked by Marika's actions—how dare she!
Faced with Leilana's incredulous gaze, Lann didn't look at her, but instead stared at Messermo's back.

Leilana then realized what was happening and turned to look at her husband.

Messermo paused only slightly as he walked back towards the platform, showing none of the astonishment his wife had shown.

Leilana finally understood: it turned out that Messermo really did know this would happen all along!

“He’s not just some Darkbringer who’s trespassed into the Shadowlands,” the Knight of the Two Moons suddenly spoke to Messermo’s retreating figure. “He just went to check out the city’s healing rooms, and he said… he’s confident he can heal those sorcerers.” With a soft 'hiss,' the soles of Messermo’s boots scraped against the stone floor.

He stopped, and the winged snake head on his shoulder turned back around.

"If there really is a way to leave Shadowlands, perhaps we can help from outside?" Seizing the opportunity, Lan En continued, "How long have you been sitting idly in Shadowlands?"

"This hall isn't the lord's room, nor is it a study or meditation room. Built here, it's more like a secret chamber, a dark room... You knew from the start that someone like me would come looking for you, or even come to kill you, right?"

Castle structures vary greatly, but the division of various functional areas and their logical distribution are all traceable.

Let alone Lann, even someone like Margarita, who frequently visits various castles, would find it strange that Messermo would stay in this room the whole time.

Because this place doesn't meet the requirements for a lord's room at all.

In Lann's view, it was more like Messermo was... isolating himself.

It's unlikely that he was hiding from challenges and pursuit.

After all, their power and status are undeniable. Apart from Grik, Lann currently sees the Golden Clan as having "bad guys but no cowards."

No matter how big a mess we make, and no matter what enemies we face afterward, once we've made up our minds, we'll just go for it!

In this world in the age of gods, the bloodline of the Golden Clan is indeed an advantage, but there are always plenty of other powerful individuals as well.

Amidst fierce battles and competition, how could the many members of the Golden Clan, who have managed to reach their current positions, be afraid of fighting their enemies?

Just like a joke.

Messermo was at most giving up on himself and didn't want to cause trouble.

“If we go back to the border, we’ll cover the way to the Shadowlands. That will save you a lot of trouble, won’t it?”

"Cover it up? You think covering it up will work? That those fading followers, like flies, will stop?"

Messermo's indifferent question brought new information.

'Fade-like Distortions'? This could mean that Distortions relentlessly pursue the shadowy land, like flies chasing after a putrid smell.

On the other hand, this may be emphasizing the large number of those who have faded.

But how could there be so many faded ones? How many people were there in the round table hall?

unless……

Lan En put aside his thoughts and responded almost immediately after Messermo's voice.

"Why didn't it work?" The Witcher pretended not to understand. "Shadowlands was indeed once the center of the Borderlands and the origin of life. But now the Borderlands are too busy to take care of themselves because of the broken magic circle, while Shadowlands are many times more dangerous and cruel than the Borderlands."

"Because any of you faded ones who aspire to become kings will inevitably seek the secrets of the deepest parts of the Shadowlands! One after another, endlessly!"

It seemed that his emotions had been building up for a long time. Even with Messermo's cold personality, he still retorted almost immediately after Lann finished speaking.

However, he quickly calmed down and regained his composure.

"Hmm, you're trying to provoke me into saying more, Faded Ones? Not a bad attempt. But how much better off are you than I am?"

"I sit here in Shadow City, commanded by my mother, and your fates have long been planned by her as well. Among a swarm of flies, one will eventually become king, but how many will die in the process? Will you be among those who die, hmm?"

In Queen Marika's plan, the Faded One... will become king?!

This is truly a huge piece of news!
The demigods' power and majesty were at their zenith, and the entire borderlands trembled in their battle.

But none of these demigods were chosen to become king?
If this kind of news gets back to the border area, it will really cause a major earthquake!
However, at this moment, Lan En remained unmoved by the information he had tricked out of him.

He played his cards methodically.

"But what if someone else wants to become king, or even god? Someone who isn't in Queen Marika's plans."

In the hall, the flickering candlelight seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then, the sound of shoes scraping the ground rang out.

Messermo, who had been walking towards the platform with his back to the crowd, slowly turned around and faced them once again.

Especially the Witcher.

"What did you say?"

Messermo's voice was as soft as a snake's hiss.

“I say,” Lann looked at him calmly and confidently, “Mikaela, one of your brothers, is now heading to the Spiral Tower in the Shadowlands, wanting to use the Gate of God there to replicate what your mother once did—to ascend her soul to godhood!”

(End of this chapter)