"I accidentally lost it," Throne replied absentmindedly. He saw a massive stone gate ahead, with a statue tens of meters high on each side. Because it was so majestic, it didn't seem like something humanly possible to create. After staring for a while, he felt something wasn't right.
Wait, where did that Astel go?
His pupils constricted slightly. He vaguely remembered there should be a hanging, ghoul-like monster on this gate, but why wasn't it there now?
Had it been killed by the Tarnished, or did he remember wrong?
That thing seemed fierce, but it couldn't move. No matter how powerful it was, it couldn't withstand the concentrated fire of a bunch of sorcerers.
No wonder the Nox had come out; the Tarnished were really causing trouble for the Greater Will.
Rogier thought Throne was just unwilling to let it go, so he took out his satchel. "Don't worry, I'll share half with you."
What a good man.
With Throne's current strength, he didn't care about these materials at all, but he appreciated the gesture.
"I'm curious about the past. How about I escort you to the outskirts?"
"Are you also curious about the secrets of the Lands Between?" Rogier's eyes lit up as if he had found a kindred spirit. He gritted his teeth and said, "Alright, I'll explore further inside with you to see how majestic that Eternal City truly is."
Only the Tarnished of the Roundtable Hold would venture deep into the Ainsel River. Ordinary people would just pick up some items and leave; who cared about the past?
Throne didn't try to persuade him further. As he felt his way forward, he asked, "Why do you want to learn about the past?"
"Before the Elden Ring was shattered, during the height of the Erdtree's power, someone stole a fragment of the Rune of Death from Maliketh the Black Blade and killed Godwyn the Golden, causing the first death of a demigod." Rogier's voice was tinged with mystery and melancholy as he pursed his lips.
"The Night of the Black Knives triggered the Shattering of the Ring and the Shattering war. To mend this twisted world, I must understand the causes and consequences."
This answer wasn't unexpected, and Throne had nothing to say. This spellblade's ambition was indeed grand.
"What about you? Do you also want to mend the world by learning about the past?" Rogier saw Throne was silent and thought the secret had shocked him.
"A little bit, but I'm not interested in the deaths of demigods. Instead, things before the arrival of the Erdtree are more interesting," Throne replied in a scholarly tone.
What good would knowing do? It's not like he could return to ancient times.
Rogier was somewhat disappointed. Ancient history was too long ago; it was now the era of the Erdtree.
Because the underground was so chaotic, with wandering Tarnished and underground races clashing physically, defenses were mostly on the outskirts. Throne quietly reached the giant gate and took a good look at the statue.
It was a kind-looking old man, appearing like a sage with a beard like tree roots. He held an unknown object in his arms, plant roots extended from the crotch of his robe, and the base looked like a furnace.
Very strange.
That was Throne's first impression. He asked Melina directly, but the kindling maiden indicated she didn't know. He then asked Rogier, who only called it cryptic, saying every stone slab here was enough for scholars to study for years.
"I remember seeing this thing in many places."
It had been too long, and he couldn't remember clearly. He only vaguely recalled the Ring-ologists arguing over the old man's identity.
Forget it, I'm not here for archaeology.
Throne's head throbbed from thinking. This wasn't a good place for research, so he memorized the details and ducked into the stone gate.
Behind the gate was a cave. Throne raised his hand to stop Rogier and gestured toward the rock wall.
Over a dozen plump, giant red ants were clinging to the wall, hidden by shadows. If one weren't careful, they'd surely be sprayed with venom.
Rogier felt a chill. This damn place was indeed full of hidden dangers.
It was impossible to enter—at least not while bringing a spellblade. Throne wasn't here to make a fortune either. After wandering for a while, he had gained nothing but a head full of new questions.
"Maybe I should just forget it and go back to burn down the sorcerer's workshop. That would be enough of an account to the princess."
Throne wanted to quit while he was ahead. Just then, fine footsteps came from behind. Rogier's muscles tensed as he raised his hand to cast Glintblade Phalanx, but Throne heard the footsteps were wrong; the frequency was much faster than the slow-moving imps.
A suit of bright armor appeared in view, holding a steel whip, followed by over a dozen elite Tarnished. They didn't seem to care about stealth, immediately drawing enemies into a fray.
"Juno Hoslow, the Knight of the Bloody Finger? People from the Roundtable Hold?" He was stunned for a moment, then remembered these people were the main force of exploration.
The other party also noticed the two at the cave entrance. Recognizing Rogier, he barked coldly, "Help out."
He didn't need to be told; the giant red ants on the wall had been disturbed and were leaping down, twitching their antennae as they pounced.
Damn it, and I was just about to go back.
Throne raised his staff and fired several Glintstone Arcs at the ants. He cunningly swept them along the ground, instantly severing several limbs.
With his current intelligence, even the most basic glintstone sorcery was quite powerful. As the giant red ants raised their heads to spit acid, Throne prepared to roll and dodge, but several magic glintblades pierced their heads.
A chill brushed his cheek as a silver whip lashed past, decapitating the wounded ants.
Such efficient harvesting.
Throne wasn't angry about having his kills stolen. Watching the claymen emerging from the surroundings being slaughtered by the significantly stronger Tarnished, he looked up and saw several dark objects falling into the pool. They were transforming, thrusting out blades. Without a second thought, Throne and Rogier raised their staves together.
Magic Downpour!
A rain of glintstone instantly fell. Several silver tears were riddled with holes, and orange-yellow electrical arcs began to appear on their surfaces.
"Watch out, they're going to explode!" Hoslow growled, using his steel whip to hurl the silver tears toward the group of claymen.
Boom! Boom!
Intense light flared, making Throne squint. Dozens of claymen froze in place, and the Tarnished took the opportunity to unleash their full power.
Spells, swords, and fire pots were hurled without restraint, turning the enemies into piles of mud. But more enemies were pouring out from the ruined houses and broken walls.
Nox riders on giant red ants patrolled the outskirts, while claymen swarmed forward.
"Go, keep moving forward!" The Knight of the Bloody Finger had no intention of a prolonged fight and turned to run into the cave.
Tarnished after Tarnished rushed past Throne. He hesitated for a moment and changed his mind slightly.
Since there was help, it wouldn't hurt to look deeper. If he remembered correctly, those Nox were also victims.
The question then was, could he get them to reach some kind of deal with Caria?
*Chapter 199: Nokstella*
The terrain sloped downward, and the rushing water reached their thighs. This cave was narrow; the claymen that came up were just fodder. When another team of Tarnished from the outpost began to expand their territory, the claymen hurriedly retreated to help.
Not only that, but the ants that had densely packed the cave had mostly been wiped out.
Throne followed at the rear, rarely acting except to blast one or two giant red ants poking their heads out of the grotto. He could see that this group of Tarnished had been here many times.
The "hanging ghoul" at the entrance had been taken down by them in collaboration with sorcerers. He heard that the underground races didn't come out to stop them during the attack.
Naturally. That "hanging ghoul" blocked the entrance to the Eternal City. They were happy to have someone help deal with it. Once this physical seal was removed, the Nox inside immediately merged with the claymen to fight the invaders.
"If these guys retreat, will the Nox rush to the surface? The academy probably won't lose much; they might even take the opportunity to have Leyndell send troops to quell the chaos and pin the blame on Caria while they're at it."
Throne thought it was very likely. Any means were acceptable to survive. Anyway, the factions on the Erdtree's side would never tolerate these monsters stepping onto the stage of the Lands Between again.
"But these Tarnished are a bit too proactive." Throne watched the running team ahead. Juno Hoslow was undoubtedly a hero-class, and the rest were at least high-rank knights.
On the surface, a dangerous place like the Ainsel River naturally required elites for exploration. After all, the Tarnished had no reason to give for scouring the land; even if the Roundtable Hold came together, it was to accumulate the power to become lord.
"But I still feel something is off. It's a delusion to think these people can conquer Nokstella. What are they trying to do by constantly throwing in troops?"
Throne couldn't guess. He only felt the situation was cryptic, as if they were trying to draw attention to provide cover.
"Rest for a moment." The Knight of the Bloody Finger raised his hand. The Tarnished leaned against the damp rock walls, panting silently. During offensive missions, they generally didn't bring maidens.
This group was very tough. Only Throne and Rogier were out of place. The two exchanged a glance, and finally, Rogier stepped forward.
"Lord Hoslow, how are we supposed to get out later?"
"Someone will meet us. No one can stop us if we strike from both inside and out." Juno Hoslow didn't even bother to look up. He hadn't expected a few individual Tarnished to venture this deep, but since they were of the same kind, he had to take them along.
"Don't worry, we'll just harass the outskirts and retreat once we've gathered enough items. We won't fight those Nox head-on."
Rogier breathed a sigh of relief. He was also curious about what the legendary Eternal City looked like.
"My lord, is there any point in doing this? If it's wealth you're after, the outskirts are enough," Throne suddenly spoke up.
The Knight of the Bloody Finger glanced at him. He didn't recognize this secretive Tarnished, but thinking there was no problem since he was with Rogier, he explained:
"You don't understand military strategy. This repeated harassment and back-and-forth pulling will exhaust the Nox. By then, the wealth of that Eternal City will be ours."
Bullshit. Tarnished don't have the courage to besiege a city, but they have plenty of guts to pick up scraps. Only a fool would want to fight Nokstella with you.
Throne sneered inwardly. He had just come from Limgrave and had played a group of Tarnished like fiddles; he knew their habits all too well.
"If you do this a few more times, aren't you worried the Nox will target you?"
"Retreat when encountering a strong enemy—that's the style of us Tarnished." Hoslow was a bit displeased and said flatly, "If you don't agree, you can choose to go back."
Throne immediately fell silent. The surrounding Tarnished also chuckled, thinking he had been put in his place.
But no one knew that if Throne wanted to go back, those claymen and ants couldn't stop him at all; he could crush them with a little effort.
"He's right."
"Hmm? I think he's lying. The risk and reward are simply not proportional," Melina said quietly. Ordinary Tarnished might still value the academy's tasks, but would these elites care about those rewards?
"You're wrong. It's right to make the Nox split their forces and divert their attention, but we'll have to see what they specifically want to do."
Throne suddenly had a bad feeling. The Roundtable Hold followed the Two Fingers. Doing something so nonsensical... could the Two Fingers be trying to move against Caria?
He didn't know how they would do it or why it involved the Eternal City, but figuring this out was definitely more important than burning a few labs.
"Vanguard forward, let's keep going."
With a command, the Tarnished put away their bread and waterskins and traveled in silence. Throne still lagged sluggishly at the rear.
The cave was narrow and long. Giant ants would spring out from time to time, and they even understood tactics. Sometimes a shield-headed ant would block the passage completely while its kin from the grotto spat acid.
When that stuff hit the body, it would emit white smoke and corrode flesh and blood. Fortunately, the Tarnished all had flasks of crimson tears; such flesh wounds were nothing.
After traveling like this, the sound of rushing water became louder. Throne looked up and saw a shallow, azure lake at the end of the cave, with a cyan wall on the opposite side.
The wall was several meters high, engraved with golden patterns. It looked like a work of art, but many parts had been blasted down, with rubble scattered on the ground. No need to ask who did it.
Throne felt a bit emotional. He would have come here sooner or later, and the things on the way wouldn't have stopped him, but he hadn't expected to travel with the Tarnished of the Roundtable Hold.
"Be careful. They probably don't dare to defend the outskirts." The Knight of the Bloody Finger raised his hand. Several vanguards didn't use the main gate, quickly jumping onto the broken wall and making a safety signal.
"Forward."
Without him saying it, Throne and Rogier had already rushed over. It was the first time for both of them, so they were naturally full of curiosity.
The two climbed the slope and poked their heads out of the gap. Their eyes involuntarily widened.
A breathtaking view ahead!
Amidst the hazy white mist stood a massive gray-black city. It wasn't as majestic and solid as Stormveil, but it possessed an extreme artistic beauty.
Tall spires, solemn and grand outer walls, plus a "starry sky" overhead—it looked like a castle from a fairy tale.
The Eternal City of Nokstella was truly a subterranean miracle.
Below the wall was a pool of water, with dozens of corpses on the shore beside it, adding a touch of cruel beauty to the city.
The population here wasn't large, and there was no grand welcoming ceremony. Throne looked at the nearby Tarnished in confusion.
"Don't worry, we've been here many times. These Nox are tired too; they're just trying to find ways to catch us," replied a gaunt middle-aged man in leather armor with a bell at his waist.
"Why don't they guard the cave entrance and the outer walls?"
"Who says they don't? Who do you think blasted this down?" The middle-aged man sneered coldly and ignored Throne.
But this sentence was simple enough. A picture immediately appeared in Throne's mind.
Powerful Tarnished arriving in groups, approaching quietly, unleashing a bunch of spells, and then turning to run—as annoying as flies.
The Nox had a small population and no advantage in combat power. They couldn't withstand the attrition from the Tarnished. Moreover, the underground world was interconnected; people didn't necessarily come through the front gate.
"A war of attrition is meaningless. Do they want to fight a war of annihilation? But the Tarnished are too smart." Throne shook his head. Except for him, every one of them had been trained in underground catacombs and caves; they were all very shrewd.
"There are no defenders on the outskirts. It seems the Nox want to invite us in." The Knight of the Bloody Finger's tone carried a hint of pleasure.
"We've been here seven or eight times, right? Each time we trade one for five. How many people can they have left?"
"Captain, should we go in and take a look?"
The Knight of the Bloody Finger raised his hand to stop the discussion and said coldly, "Raya Lucaria Academy will launch a new round of exploration. This time, a large number of troops will be deployed to clear out those monsters. They want to set a trap? Not so easy!"
I just got here, and you're about to launch a purge? Talk about good luck.
Throne pricked up his ears and suddenly asked, "Is the academy presiding?"
"Yes, Professor Aila will lead the team personally and test some new war machines. Everyone is tired of these skirmishes. By then, the forward outpost will move to the ruins."
Wouldn't that be right in Nokstella's face?