Gou is a dark elf in Warhammer

"Marlene?"

Malekith turned his head, his gaze shifting from the distant horizon to Dakous's face.

"Yes, Marlene."

Dakos's answer was so brief it sounded like it had been rehearsed countless times.

Malekith nodded in agreement. This matter had been agreed upon long ago, so there was nothing to discuss. During the conquest of Ulthuan, Marlene, Finnubal, Moralion, and Darrowland had all contributed significantly. In Darkus's words, it was time for the "settlement," and what was due would be given in full.

Moreover, Marlene herself has the ability, background, and qualifications to be considered qualified, and no one can find fault with that.

"What about the banks?" Malekith then asked.

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand, stopping Darkus from saying anything more. At the same time, a strange, playful smile appeared on his face, a smile that carried the certainty of "I've seen through you" and a hint of "Let me guess."

"Let me guess?" he drawled, pointing his finger in the air. "Five?"

He knew Dakotas too well; he knew the man's habits and preferences.

In Trudeau's society, this has even become a consensus.

The number "five" is almost synonymous with Dakous. Whenever Dakous pulls out a new plan, Malekith can guess "five" with his eyes closed, and he's almost always right.

“Four.” Darkus replied without changing his expression.

Malekith's expression froze for a moment.

"Four?!" he repeated, a hint of surprise in his voice, as if some long-held rule had been broken. But he quickly accepted it, shrugging. "Alright, which four?"

"Aisha, Asati."

"really……"

Malekith first wore a complex expression that combined "expected" and "uncomfortable," his lips twitching slightly and his eyebrows furrowing, as if he had swallowed something he both expected and desperately didn't want to admit. Then, he let out a short, dry laugh, as if it were squeezed from deep in his throat.

This was already taking shape after Nagaros ushered in a new era. And now, it has become inevitable, a certainty!

In Darkus's words, this matter is somewhat too abstract, too farcical, too...

Aisha, as the mother of all things, the goddess of fertility, harvest and the bounty of nature, the sacred symbol of Asur, and the eternal queen, wields immense influence in Ulthuan, with followers throughout the continent.

And Asati...

This goddess, who reigns over pleasure, temptation, and indulgence, is forbidden to be worshipped in communal communities in Ulthuan. Cults of licentiousness are defined as heretics and are targeted for persecution, with the Asur suppressing her influence generation after generation. Her temples do not exist, her priests hide in the shadows, and her name is rarely mentioned in many places.

But in Nagarus, Darkus linked her to childbirth, making her a part of the reproductive process.

Desire...

Besides being an integral part of procreation, Daculus also linked her to the civil administration. A large portion of the members of the Council of All Peoples were her followers. Those in charge of census, statistics, and grassroots affairs worshipped this goddess who was considered taboo in Ulthuan.

Only Darkus could have managed to bring Aisha and Assati together.

No one else could have done it, including Malekith. Although he had lived for over six thousand years, his knowledge and understanding in certain areas were still too limited, so limited that he couldn't even describe the feeling.

To put it simply, Darkus's actions were like trying to combine a goddess with a rebellious girl. It looked extremely incongruous, extremely awkward, and extremely frustrating.

Just like...

Dakos slowly retreated, creating distance between them.

Then he spread his hands, stepped back with his right leg, leaned his upper body slightly forward, tilted his head to one side, and wore an odd smile.

Thus, a custom that had never existed in the world before and that did not conform to any etiquette norms was born.

"Elsa agreed!"

He said this in a lighthearted tone, as if he were announcing that the weather was nice today.

Malekith's face was contorted in a bizarre way: his eyebrows were raised, his nostrils flared, and his lips pressed together, then opened and closed again, as if some invisible force was pulling at his face from all directions. He kept shaking his head, the movements small but frequent, as if trying to shake something that shouldn't exist out of his mind.

What could he say?
Elsa agreed!

He had vaguely sensed this before. Back in Avalon, he had asked his cousin—the Eternal Queen. The Eternal Queen's response was… resignation.

A sense of helplessness: "I know this is outrageous, but I really can't control it"; a sense of helplessness: "Let it be, it's not going to get any worse"; a sense of helplessness: "Estella has agreed, what can I say?"; a sense of helplessness: "Truucci, do whatever you want."

Look!
This is the benefit of a world with gods.

Who says God is useless?

A real God is incredibly useful!

Doctrines, will, what is orthodox and what is heretical—the power to define these things rests in God's hands, not in the hands of a certain patriarch, a certain sect, or a group of self-righteous high priests.

Of course, this is on the premise that Asuyan is not suppressed.

And now the ban has been lifted!

A new era has arrived!

Darkus used a shortcut to overtake, a dimensional reduction attack, and went directly to the head of the opposing department, finding Aisha.

When God says yes, it is yes!
If God says yes, then yes!
How could you, a mere mortal, understand God's faith better than God himself?

Malekith looked at Darkus's face, which was etched with "See, I told you so," and shook his head, then shook his head again.

In the end, I couldn't help but laugh.

The laughter carried a sense of resignation and helplessness, but it wasn't entirely negative.

It's as if it's saying: Fine, you win.

"And the second one?"

After laughing, Malekith raised his hand to wipe the corner of his eye, removing any tears that hadn't actually formed from his laughter. He took a deep breath, wiped the smile from his face, composed himself, and adopted a "let's have a serious discussion" stance once again.

Then he assumed the starting stance again.

Dakos was all too familiar with that pose: his right hand slightly raised, fingers spread, as if to hold something up, or as if drawing an invisible number in the air.

This is just a guess.

"Val, Hecate?"

His tone carried a certainty that said, "This time it won't be wrong, right?"

Vaal is the god of forging, and Hecate is the goddess of magic. With the arrival of the new era, the emergence of factories and working groups, and the deep cooperation between Vaal priests and sorceresses, many elves of Nagaroth bound the two together.

"No!"

Darkus looked at him with an expression that said, "I gave you a chance, but you failed." His expression contained disappointment, disdain, and a hint of helplessness, as if to say, "I gave you a hint, and you still guessed wrong."

Malekith's expression changed.

It wasn't anger, but a kind of exasperated frustration at how could something be wrong. His brows furrowed, and his lips moved slightly, as if he were going through the entire list of gods in his mind.

"Is the order wrong, or..."

He paused, his gaze sweeping across Darkus's face, trying to glean some clue from that expressionless countenance. Then, he remembered.

It was during a casual conversation, a long time ago, so long ago that he had almost forgotten it himself. Dakota had told a very lame joke, which he hadn't paid much attention to at the time, thinking it was just a casual remark.

"Lema?"

When he said the name, his tone was tentative, uncertain, and also carried a hint of surprise, as if to say, "No way."

Dakos pointed his finger at Malekith.

His posture and gaze were a complete imitation of the classic "Marekistu" pose he had created, plagiarized, and then which had become widespread. His fingers were straight, the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, and his eyes held a sense of satisfaction that said, "You've finally figured it out."

Seeing this, Malekith also pointed his finger at Dakos.

The two of them just stood there pointing at each other, like two statues that had suddenly frozen in place.

"That doesn't seem right."

Malekith broke the silence first, withdrawing his fingers but frowning even more deeply.

"What's wrong with it?"

“I’ve always had a question…” Malekith began, his tone becoming serious, no longer the lighthearted, riddle-like manner he had displayed earlier.

"Yes, please go ahead."

"If you were a soldier, an infantryman, how would you fight against those mechanical behemoths? With the gun on your back? Or the gun you used before, or the Twisted Cannon?"

His question came suddenly and was completely out of sync with the previous conversation, but Dakos responded quickly.

“Anti-tank equipment!” he said, his tone crisp as if reciting a list. “Large-charge projectiles, rocket launchers that can fire armor-piercing cones? Direct-fire artillery!”

"That's the crux of the problem."

Malekith looked at him with a look that said, "You finally understand."

"Shouldn't these soldiers be the true followers of Lema?"

After saying that, he sighed.

The sigh was soft, but it carried a heavy weight. He gave a bitter smile, a slight curve at the corner of his mouth, but there was no smile in that curve, only a sense of helplessness that said, "Look how complicated this situation is."

Anez Lema.

Kane's sister, the goddess of the wild hunt.

Her story has been passed down among the elves for countless years. Kronos had warned his followers: Do not take from the forest without giving back. And she agreed with this.

It is said... well, not just said, it's true. She once had feelings for Kunos, but Kunos ruthlessly rejected her.

Thus, revenge was etched into her heart.

This is a true story.

This is not a fable, not a metaphor, but a true story from the past, told among the spirits and gods. Rejecting the affections of a goddess resulted in a resentment that has lingered for millennia.

Due to Asuyan's suppression, and because of the different branches and doctrines in various regions, Laima's true nature became ambiguous. In different places, she presented different appearances.

Thus, she became a vengeful deity, a dark mirror of Kunos. Unlike Kunos's disciples who worshipped the beauty of the wilderness, her followers viewed the vast lands beyond their sight as fertile ground for hunters to vent their rage, allowing wild beasts to drink freely from the blood of the weak.

Thus, in Nagarus, the Duruki, through her as a medium, were able to enjoy the thrill of pursuit and slaughter. In their minds, she didn't care what was being hunted; all creatures were prey for this bloodthirsty goddess!
Thus, in Ulthuan, she was also revered as the patron goddess of jealous lovers. Those who suffered heartbreak in love would pray to Lyma, hoping that the unfaithful would also taste the bitterness of abandonment.

In Atholol, some local lords who sought to oppose the Orion and Ariel regime worshipped the dark mirror of Kunos, namely Lyma.

Although Malekith's confusion may seem somewhat abstract when expressed, it is essentially correct.

Because the essence of Lema is to fight against the strong, to hunt, and to fight against those who are stronger than themselves.

This is her core!
Those infantrymen armed with anti-tank equipment, those soldiers who used rocket launchers to fight against mechanical behemoths, those who charged forward against enemies a hundred times stronger than themselves—they are the true believers of Laima!
But what is the reality?

Those beast tamers who hunt, maintain, and control giant beasts are Lyma's main followers.

Dakota made that strange interpretation again, spreading his hands, stepping back with his right leg, leaning forward, and wearing an expression that said, "What can you do to me?"

His arrogant expression made you want to punch him, but you couldn't find the words to refute him.

"Could Lema disagree?"

he asks.

It's not "Lema agreed!" or "Will Lema agree?", it's "Can Lema disagree?". Malekith could tell the difference between these three sentences.

"It has no prestige at all..."

Malekith sighed.

There was no anger or discontent in that sigh, only a sense of vicissitude, a feeling that "you can see anything as you live." A wild hunting goddess, an embodiment of revenge and confrontation with the strong, was thus arranged so clearly, leaving her no room for refusal.

And afterwards, you have to smile and say, "Okay, I'm very satisfied."

More than six thousand years ago.

He thought the world would no longer feel new to him.

It seems he was wrong.

Being with Dakota made him feel younger. He realized he needed to constantly learn, absorb knowledge, and update his understanding, instead of relying on his past achievements, otherwise he wouldn't be able to navigate the new era.

“I’ve arranged a good place for the Lema followers in the army,” Darkus said, his tone as calm as if he were reporting what was served in the mess hall that day.

"Huh? Wait..."

Marekis was still processing the information he had just received when Darkus suddenly said something like that. Before he could even process it, a sense of foreboding washed over him.

His gaze lingered on Darkus's face for a moment, and then...

"Could it be the Railway Institute?"

He found the word absurd even when he uttered it. But it was precisely this word that, when it popped into his head, carried a certainty of "yes, that's it."

"uh-huh."

Darkus's "hmm" was incredibly flippant, as if to say, "You've finally been smart for once today." His expression was even more irritating, with the corners of his mouth slightly upturned and his eyebrows raised slightly, his whole face radiating smugness that said, "See how considerate I am?"

Malekith gave that helpless, bitter smile again.

It wasn't an angry, bitter smile, nor a mocking one; it was a bitter smile that said, "I've lived for six thousand years and seen everything, but this is truly the first time I've ever seen anything like this." A slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth, his eyes narrowed, and his expression hovered between wanting to curse and wanting to laugh, ultimately choosing neither, opting for a wry smile.

He seemed to want to say something, his lips moved, then he closed them again.

Then he remembered Darkus's strange interpretation, his arrogant "what can you do to me?" expression, and his nonchalant "Can Lema disagree?"

Yes.

Could Lyma possibly disagree? (End of Chapter)