"The situation is still unclear, but it seems this strange lightning originated from the Blood Lake. There was supposed to be a baptism ceremony there today, so something unexpected must have happened."
Varré answered succinctly, but behind that cold mask, there was a faint trace of near-madness.
After a brief silence, Ansbach pondered for a moment, stroking his chin as he gave his orders in a grave tone.
"Send men to the Blood Lake immediately and find out exactly what happened. Notify all Pureblood Knights to assemble and await orders."
"And send word throughout the entire mausoleum. Everyone is to stay alert and strengthen the defenses. I have a bad feeling about this."
As he raised his hand, he seemed to feel a faint sting of pain, from the wound he had suffered back in Limgrave. That ancient dragon lady's lightning had been terrifyingly powerful.
The combat strength of the ancient dragons truly defied reason. Any member of that race with even a little renown was a fearsome powerhouse. The gap between races was displayed to the fullest.
"Yes." Varré gave a slight bow, and High Priest Esgar also stepped forward.
"My lord, do you need my assistance?" Esgar asked after bowing. Other than the Invisible Mother and Mohg, the commander of the Pureblood Knights standing before him held the highest status in the Dynasty of Blood.
"You will be responsible for deploying the priests and nobles. Also, wake Lord Mohg and inform him that an old acquaintance may have come calling," Ansbach ordered in a low, solemn voice.
When that streak of golden lightning crossed the sky, most people's first thought had been of the ancient dragon.
But this time, the sense of familiarity Ansbach felt did not come from that ancient dragon lady. It came from a Lord.
Once he had spoken, Ansbach fell silent and slowly sank into thought.
He could not understand how that lord had gotten in here. The Dynasty's defenses were loose precisely because outsiders were not supposed to be able to enter so easily.
And yet he had received no report of any outer strongholds being breached, which only made it harder to understand.
Leading his vast army, Nolan had already driven deep into the territory without resistance and arrived at the foot of the Dynasty Mausoleum.
Looking at the woman before him, brown-haired and holding a twinblade, he asked, "Eleonora, where were you captured by the Bloody Fingers?"
"South of the Minor Erdtree in Caelid, near the outskirts of Summonwater Village." Eleonora sighed, as if recalling an unpleasant memory, and unconsciously tightened her grip on the twinblade in her hand.
That weapon clearly was not from the Lands Between. She had brought it with her from the Land of Reeds when she returned. After her capture, it had become a trophy of the Dynasty of Blood. Thanks to the man before her, she had finally gotten it back.
"Come to think of it, we were planning to go join you. We just had bad luck and ran into those people instead."
A bitter look crossed Eleonora's face. She had no time to dwell on the joy of getting her weapon back, and only shook her head helplessly as she spoke.
The great White Lord, Nolan Bethel, now ruled over Stormveil. His fame had spread far and wide, igniting a spark of hope in the hearts of every Tarnished who heard of him.
Those wandering souls who had once drifted without home or purpose had finally found a place to belong. Even the weakest Tarnished could find somewhere there to settle down and survive.
With such a bright future laid out before them, who would choose to become a Bloody Finger, wallowing day after day in pain and wounds?
On one side was the chance to serve under a Lord both merciful and fearless, to fight for a lofty ideal, and in the end either earn the name of a hero or die a hero's death.
On the other was the life of a rat hiding in the filth, cowering all day in this sunless underground hole and turning into some disgusting madman.
Was there even any need to think about which to choose?
But the Dynasty of Blood was different from the other factions. They were far inferior to the forces of the other lords, so they resorted to more extreme methods. The Accursed Blood would strip away the obstacles of personal will for them.
And so, conflict between the two sides had been inevitable.
The Bloody Finger squad had been led by a hero, while Eleonora's Tarnished squad had naturally been wiped out. After being captured and dragged underground, she could not help but feel grateful that there had still been a chance to turn things around in such a desperate situation.
Seeing the Blood followers in their frenzied state, she could already imagine what she would have become after turning into one of that priest's "kin."
"So the Dynasty of Blood has a stronghold in Caelid." Nolan could hardly ignore that piece of information. Of course, the one who should be worried was his brother-in-law.
What Nolan was thinking about was what expression Radahn would make if he suddenly appeared in Caelid with a large army.
Setting everything else aside, it would save a great deal of runes just in marching and supply transport.
"Eleonora, I'm glad you've joined us, but for now your strength still isn't enough to enter the Royal Guard. Don't worry, though. Once we get out of here, I'll help you trick a Finger Maiden into coming along."
Nolan wore a comforting smile, and he did not forget to pat Eleonora on the shoulder in encouragement.
"Uh... it's my honor." Eleonora had no idea what kind of organization the Royal Guard was, but from the sound of it, Nolan had clearly accepted her.
That had been her goal in going to Limgrave in the first place. At first, she had wanted to find a chance to challenge this Lord of the Tarnished, but now it seemed that was no longer necessary.
"Why did you choose me?" Eleonora could hear the obvious trust in Nolan's words, as though he were certain she would become a hero, and that stirred a bit of curiosity in her.
"You could call it a feeling. I trust my instincts a great deal. The one time I didn't, I regretted it," Nolan said.
"Doing things based on a feeling? That doesn't sound very reliable. I'm just an ordinary Tarnished," Eleonora said, frowning slightly, a hint of concern in her eyes.
"No. In my eyes, Eleonora, you're not ordinary at all. I've always been a good judge of character." As he spoke, Nolan reached out and gently rested a hand on her shoulder.
The future great general under Mohg, the "Violet Bloody Finger" who hunted flying dragons and heroes, with strength that would rank at least in the upper middle among heroes. How could she possibly be ordinary?
Her future was promising.
"Done talking? Are we continuing the attack or not?" Melina, who had temporarily been promoted to Nolan's number one general, rode over on horseback.
Her title had changed dramatically, but there was no helping it. Right now she was Nolan's strongest fighter, a superpowered girl capable of facing a Demigod in battle.
Though apparently she herself had forgotten that she normally never took part in battles like this. This time, Nolan had simply told her to do it, and she had gone and done it.
"Attack immediately. Don't give them time to catch their breath. Send Those Who Live in Death in first. Everyone else follows behind," Nolan ordered.
Those Who Live in Death possessed a certain degree of immortality, and without reason, they felt no pain. They were practically the perfect front-line meat shields.