"You are the blemish on Radahn's life…"
These words struck Rykard's heart like a heavy hammer, causing him intense pain.
Lies do not hurt; the truth is the sharpest blade.
Malenia the Valkyrie's words were like a keen dagger, mercilessly piercing through all his defenses.
From birth, Rykard had always lived beneath his elder brother's shadow.
Whether practicing combat techniques or studying magic, he was always used as the comparison point beneath his elder brother Radahn.
Radahn became a supreme warrior, leading the Redmane Knights in campaigns across the lands. He eventually conquered all of Caelid and was personally granted the title of General by Radagon because of his glorious military achievements.
Meanwhile, Rykard could only remain hidden inside Volcano Manor, accompanying those long serpents while secretly doing unspeakable things in the shadows. Barely anyone within the entire Golden Dynasty even knew his name.
When he and Radahn studied sorcery together, Radahn displayed unparalleled talent, quickly becoming the greatest master of gravity sorcery.
By combining gravity magic with his warrior's physique, he defeated the monstrous beasts descending from the stars and earned the title of Starscourge.
Compared to that, Rykard's flame sorcery appeared dim and insignificant. Even after exhausting himself developing lava sorcery, he still felt like he was merely picking up scraps left behind by others.
After all, the Giants and the Serpent Men were the true creators of lava-based sorcery. He had merely removed the earth-element aspect from magma magic and was hardly worthy of being called a "master."
This endless comparison and self-denial gradually twisted Rykard's heart.
He longed for recognition and desperately wished to prove his own value.
Yet reality repeatedly crushed him, pushing him deeper and deeper into self-doubt.
Even so, Rykard never gave up his pursuit of power. He constantly sought other methods to grow stronger, trying to escape from his elder brother's shadow.
But no matter how hard he struggled, it always seemed impossible for him to surpass Radahn.
Eventually, the despairing Rykard stopped pursuing pure strength and instead turned toward strategy and manipulation, dedicating himself to maintaining the stability of the Golden Dynasty.
If Radahn was the Golden Tree towering above the Lands Between, then Rykard was the shadow beneath the Golden Tree. Even after the Elden Ring shattered, he still wished to support his elder brother's ascension.
He vented the malice within his heart upon the criminals executed by the Golden Dynasty, using them to alleviate his inner suffering.
During this process, he came into contact with the Blasphemous Serpent, learned many ancient secrets, and also discovered the exalted status the Gloam-Eyed Queen held within the hearts of the Serpent and the Serpent Men.
While feeling envy, he was also moved by the Serpent Men's loyalty and genuinely accepted those adorable, somewhat foolish creatures.
However, his sincerity was ultimately repaid with betrayal by the Serpent itself.
He had given the Serpent Men countless treasures and endless support, helping them develop with all his strength.
Yet hundreds of years of genuine dedication from him could not compare to a Gloam-Eyed Queen who had died tens of thousands of years ago. How could Rykard possibly remain calm?
It could be said that from the moment of their betrayal, the Serpent Men completely ignited the fury hidden within Rykard's heart, pushing his twisted mentality to its peak.
He envied his elder brother's talent and power, but even more than that, he envied the Serpent Men's unwavering loyalty toward the Gloam-Eyed Queen.
Thus, he became determined to eradicate the Gloam-Eyed Queen and reclaim Volcano Manor along with his Serpent.
However, to his surprise, his strongest ally, Malenia the Valkyrie, also betrayed him at this critical moment and became the greatest obstacle preventing him from reclaiming control over his own forces.
Not only that, the Valkyrie even mercilessly belittled and insulted him.
This drove Rykard into a hellish fury.
He genuinely could not understand why nobody could understand him.
Were honor and justice truly that important?
In his eyes, the prosperity of the entire Golden Dynasty and the years of peace they enjoyed all existed because he had silently contributed from the shadows while carrying the burden alone.
But why could nobody see his efforts? Why could nobody understand his difficulties?
Why could they not recognize the threat posed by the Gloam-Eyed Queen?
She now controlled two rich territories—Liurnia of the Lakes and Volcano Manor—occupying one-third of the Lands Between while also possessing the support of the Dragon race.
If her forces and her law were not completely destroyed now and she were allowed to continue growing, then eventually nobody in the Lands Between would be capable of stopping the expansion of the Gloam-Eyed Queen's power.
At that time, the Golden Order would inevitably be replaced by the Law of Death. And once the Golden Dynasty collapsed, how could these demigods who upheld the old order possibly survive?
When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. At a life-and-death moment like this, what honor, justice, or righteousness could there be? Did they think this was some kind of dinner banquet where everyone could discuss morals and etiquette?
History has always been a song written by the victors, freely rewritten by whoever wins.
Yet both Radahn and the Valkyrie valued honor more than glory, wealth, or status, even willing to sacrifice their lives to protect it.
Thus, Rykard understood. He saw through the essence of both Radahn and the Valkyrie, and he comprehended one undeniable truth: with insects like these, they would never become Elden Lord.
Whether it was Malenia the Valkyrie or Starscourge General Radahn, they were only fit to fight wars on the front lines before being manipulated by others through a mere title of "General." They were fundamentally unworthy of becoming kings.
In contrast, the Omen brothers of Leyndell—Morgott and Mohg—possessed far greater kingly qualities than either Radahn or Malenia.
Because they understood that great achievements are never constrained by trivial details. As long as the objective could be accomplished, they did not care whether the methods used were vile or shameless.
Furthermore, the brothers' sinister and cunning methods were so brilliant that they did not even need to personally expose themselves in order to plunge the allied army into internal chaos.
This malicious style deeply shocked Rykard. He could not help but study it carefully and even felt a sense of kinship with them.
And when Rykard finally decided to abandon Radahn and Malenia, he instead felt relieved in his heart, immediately beginning to consider who his next profitable investment target should be.
At present, the truly qualified candidates capable of becoming king were actually very few.
Malenia, Miquella, and Radahn essentially formed an offensive and defensive alliance standing on the same side.
Miquella single-mindedly pursued godhood, while Radahn was determined to become king. The two instantly hit it off and naturally formed an alliance.
Unfortunately, despite this, the allied army still lost to the Morgott brothers and was miserably driven out of Leyndell.
Yet even after such a defeat, they still failed to understand the importance of schemes and strategy, continuing to think only about the thrill of battle all day long.
This was also the thing Rykard found most unbearable.
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