Ranni had originally expected the Baleful Shadow to seek her out the moment she entered Nokstella's domain. To her surprise, there was still no sign of it. Could even an assassin of the Two Fingers feel fear?
This was well enough. Her slow, deliberate approach would likely instill even greater dread in the Two Fingers—assuming they were capable of such emotion.
Having reclaimed the power she once left in the Grand Library to protect her mother, and with the Fingerslayer Blade in hand, Ranni occasionally felt she could strike down both the Two Fingers and their shadow without any outside help.
However, since this was the request she had made in advance, she was willing to wait quietly for the vow to be fulfilled. Otherwise, how would she find a suitable excuse to give Gawain that key? Doing so now would make her seem far too eager, wouldn't it?
"Do you see that cathedral at the highest point? If my guess is correct, the remaining Cradle is hidden there."
"Rather than that, I've already sensed that the Nox have spotted you," Gawain replied. "At least three different sorceries are primed to fire. You don't have much time for leisurely sightseeing."
"I saw them long ago. I simply wanted to wait a moment and observe how the Nox here have fared. It seems they are living much better than their kin in Nokron. I doubt I'll need to put in much effort to help them; they seem self-sufficient. Though, these people don't exactly look friendly."
"Is it possible you are the intruder here? Deal with them quickly; I'm going to hide for now. I've no desire for outsiders to see me in this form."
With a flicker of blue light, Ranni concealed her presence once more.
Gawain glanced around, pinpointing the locations where the enemies lay in ambush.
Sure enough, it didn't take long for several Glintstone Comets to come hurtling toward him. Sidestepping the attacks with ease, he casually scooped up a few stones, infused them with gravity magic, and hurled them back. He controlled his strength perfectly, merely knocking the attackers out of their hiding spots.
Simultaneously, over a dozen Nox Swordstresses mounted on giant ants lunged from the corners. They were accompanied by several Silver Tears shimmering with electrical sparks. They formed an offensive line, confronting him from a short distance.
Gawain noted the deep purple glow on the heads of the giant ants. Just as he suspected, these Noxians tamed the ants through hypnosis; once the trance was broken, the ants would instantly turn on their riders.
As he observed, one Nox Swordstress launched a tentative strike. Her Nox Flowing Sword extended and softened, its water-like properties on full display.
Unfortunately for her, the result was poor. Faced with an opponent whose strength utterly overwhelmed her own, Gawain didn't even bother to dodge. He simply caught the flowing blade as it coiled around his arm and yanked the rider straight off her mount.
This display clearly intimidated the other Noxians, making them hesitate. Without the control of the hypnosis, the giant ant stood dazed for a moment before snapping out of it. It immediately broke formation and began charging erratically, finally launching an attack at the Swordstress who had previously controlled it.
"Next time, you should choose a more docile mount. Otherwise, one lapse in concentration leads to this."
Gawain casually produced a shield to block a spray of highly corrosive ant acid. With a quick dash, he appeared before the giant ant and bisected it with a single clean strike.
The scattering remains were cleaner than he expected. It seemed the giant ants tamed by the Nox contained almost negligible amounts of Scarlet Rot.
Turning back, he pulled the Nox Swordstress to her feet. After this brief exchange, the Noxians surrounding him clearly lost their overt hostility, though they remained on high alert.
"Alright, stop looking at me like that. You're all within my range of attack. If I wanted to move, your ends would be quite miserable. Understood?"
"Lower your weapons. This man is not our enemy."
A Noxian who appeared to be a leader stepped forward from the group. Judging by the various glintstones and ornaments embedded in his armor, his status was quite high. At his signal, the Swordstress Gawain had pulled down quickly returned to the ranks.
The leading Noxian approached. Even through the hood, Gawain could tell the man was harborng complex emotions.
"I apologize for what just happened. A loathsome creature has been skulking around here lately, so their reactions are a bit... sharp."
Gawain surmised he was talking about the Baleful Shadow. Given the friction between the Two Fingers and these underground Noxians, it made sense. In the game, the Baleful Shadow only dared to lurk on the edge of the Lake of Rot to intercept players; no wonder these people were so jumpy.
"I have a fair idea of what that 'loathsome creature' is. As it happens, I am here to hunt it. Besides that, I've come at the request of... a friend. She told me I would find an old acquaintance here."
The leading Noxian removed his hood, revealing a scarred face. Beneath the typical Nightfolk features was a weary but handsome countenance, possessing a certain tragic beauty.
Of course, one could never judge the age of these Noxian elders by their appearance. This man was likely another "survivor king."
His hand clutched his weapon with a noticeable tremor, though he didn't show it directly before his kin. After taking a deep breath, he spoke with a hint of lamentation.
"An old acquaintance... do you still remember who I am?"
Gawain shook his head and replied calmly, "At least for now, I cannot recall. But this isn't our first meeting, is it?"
"Indeed, I suppose it isn't. Let me introduce myself once more. My name is Lan. Follow me; I have waited a long time for this day."
The gathered Noxians looked at one another in confusion. On one side was a stranger who had inexplicably broken in from the surface, and on the other was their leader who had almost never left this subterranean world. How could these two possibly know each other?
Still, the stranger didn't seem to be an enemy, so there shouldn't be an issue. Besides, the true strength of Nokstella wasn't something just anyone could escape from unscathed.
Lan turned to his trusted subordinates and gave a low command.
"Activate all the Dragonkin Soldiers we have kept in storage over the years. I want them ready for combat as quickly as possible. Understood?"
"Is that truly necessary, Leader? To run that many Dragonkin Soldiers at full power... our current resources won't be able to maintain them for more than a few days."
"No matter. Just do as I say. They won't need to be maintained for long."
He suddenly sensed something, his sharp gaze darting toward a corner, but he ultimately found nothing.
"Once the Dragonkin Soldiers are active, have everyone gather below and wait. I will have an announcement to make regarding our future. Before that, leave me a private space. Do not let anyone in to disturb us."
Though they didn't understand their leader's intent, Lan's long-standing authority ensured his subordinates executed the orders without objection.
Gawain made no comment, simply waiting for Lan to finish his arrangements before following him toward the great cathedral at the highest point.
As they walked, Gawain occasionally exchanged a few words with him while taking in the sights of Nokstella. Countless Noxians—Swordstresses and Monks—peered out from various corners, stealing glances at this strange outsider. A quick count confirmed that the population here was far greater than in Nokron.
This didn't surprise him. Unlike Nokron, where the access routes were blocked, Nokstella had never truly been cut off from the outside world.
A branch of their people had moved to the surface and became the predecessors of the Academy of Raya Lucaria. The fact that Ranni knew the specific layout of this place suggested a likely connection between these people and the Carian Royal Family. They hadn't faced an assault on the scale of the Fallen Hawk Company, and they could still manufacture Dragonkin Soldiers and tame giant ants.
Perhaps it was because of the Lake of Rot next door. Most likely, no matter how much the Lands Between bled, everyone tacitly agreed not to disturb this place—lest the thing sealed in the lake be released. Malenia's "dirty bomb" moment was the only exception.
The only thing that slightly surprised him was that the Silver Tears here were multi-attributed. It wasn't just the lightning enchantment seen in the game; he could see almost every named status effect here.
After all, these were Silver Tears designed to mimic all life and shoulder the mission of becoming a Night Lord; such incredible adaptability was only natural.
However, because water conducts electricity, the lightning-attribute Silver Tears were usually placed in the water. Thus, many were distributed around the Ainsel River, which served as Nokstella's main thoroughfare.
Through his brief conversation with the Noxian leader, Gawain learned of Lan's identity. In the distant past, Lan had served as a guard for Yavena for a time. As someone with the potential of a Night Maiden, Yavena was a rare resource even for the Nox at their peak.
To wait for that distant future, the two had guarded different Cradles of Mimicry. While Yavena had chosen self-isolation and low-profile operations due to the importance of the Fingerslayer Blade, Lan had been steadily accumulating power for a major move.
Once they reached the core area and were away from the prying eyes of the public, Lan dropped his formal posture. He became quite talkative—possessing a sharp-tongued personality that reminded Gawain of a certain knight who also protected a saint.
As expected, Lan spent the walk complaining about the "absurd" actions of the higher-ups back then. If you're going to assassinate someone, just do it; but somehow both key targets managed to escape!
In the end, they had summoned countless calamities from the stars. Had Lan and a few companions not run fast enough, they likely wouldn't have survived to be rescued.
Then there was the so-called "King-making plan." Nokstella had cultivated countless Silver Tears over the eons, yet not a single successful case emerged. When a candidate with suspected self-awareness finally appeared, it wasn't even their own people who found it, nearly causing the entire plan to miscarry.
After venting about a mountain of grievances, Lan's tone shifted. He began to boast about how well he had protected the Cradle of Mimicry over the years and how he had pushed for the large-scale cultivation of Grave Glovewort throughout Nokstella—all so they could immediately boost the Night Lord's strength the moment a candidate was found.
"Alright, alright, stop," Gawain said. "Honestly, of all the Noxians I've met, you're the most talkative. Back then, was it really because you shouted too loud that I noticed you?"
"Haha, probably not. However, after the two of you left, I truly did my best. Everything has been for this day. Look—this is my achievement."
Gawain stood on the stairs and looked back, his eyes widening in shock.
The ground began to tremble slightly. Through the collective effort of the Noxians below, over twenty Dragonkin Soldiers were being reactivated from their storage locations. They slowly began to converge.
"There are this many Dragonkin Soldiers? How did you even build so many?"
He couldn't help but swallow hard. This was practically a full platoon. He suspected that even with his current strength, he might not win a brawl against that many Dragonkin Soldiers at once. This was the Lands Between's version of an armored division.
Lan looked down at his total assets, feeling a wave of emotion. After all these years, he could finally fight a war with "deep pockets."
"Sigh, compared to the time I've lived through, this number isn't that large. I simply stored them away as they were built. Aside from a necessary number kept for defense, the rest were deactivated. I used to think I was being overly anxious, but later events proved I wasn't wrong."
Lan looked up at the false night sky. The "nonsense" happening on the surface made him feel quite helpless.
"Those so-called demigods are utterly unreliable. A single Shattering war turned the Lands Between into this mess. What was that demigod's name—the one parasitic to the Rot God? Right, Malenia. After she bloomed in Caelid, the Scarlet Rot spreading across the Lands Between resonated. Even the residual presence within the Lake of Rot began to stir."
He continued, "The Kindred of Rot occupying the Grand Cloister are growing in number. I can feel it—the seal left by the blind swordsman is no longer secure. Therefore, these Dragonkin Soldiers were all prepared for that worst-case scenario."
"That shouldn't be right," Gawain countered. "Malenia's bloom wasn't that long ago. I suspect you've been preparing to deal with the thing in the Lake of Rot since long before that, haven't you?"
Lan nodded. He had intended to wait until everything was over to speak of it, but since he had been seen through, there was no need to hide it.
"This is not just for the Lands Between, but also to repay the kindness you showed us back then. Only by dealing with the residual body of the Rot Goddess within the Lake of Rot can we obtain the crucial Bone-like Stone. That item can completely eliminate a divine essence."
"I see... Wait, what did you just say about completely eliminating what!?"
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Elden Ring: In the Name of Ash (252 chapter - Ongoing)
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