The Chess Game

Ordovis!

After hearing the old man's words clearly, Lucia's heart instantly tightened. It was nothing else—the name was simply too illustrious in the history of the Lands Between.

Legend said that the Crucible Knights who first followed War King Godfrey had numbered sixteen in all, and every one of them had been a powerful hero whose might had shaken the continent. The tree-shaped and axe-shaped armor they wore corresponded exactly to the two great foundations upon which the Golden Dynasty had been built: the Erdtree's endless blessings and the War King's matchless martial power.

Later, as the dynasty expanded, the number of Crucible Knights had grown slightly, yet it had never exceeded fifty. They still represented the highest military force beneath the demigods of the Golden Dynasty, and looking across the continent, perhaps only the Carian knights who served the Carian Royal Family could stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

And Ordovis, who stood before him now and ranked alongside Siluria as one of the two chief Crucible Knights, was undoubtedly one of the top ten, even top five, supreme powerhouses in the royal capital, even if gods and demigods were included!

It was obvious that Ordovis had saluted Lucia not because of Lucia himself, but because of his status as an ancient dragon prince and a demigod of Sky City. Thus, Lucia did not put on airs. Instead, he immediately returned the salute with the etiquette of a junior knight meeting a senior, saying, "Back when I was in Sky City, I often heard the elders speak of Chief Ordovis's renowned prowess in battle. To finally meet you in person today is truly my honor."

"Your Highness praises me too highly," Ordovis said, bowing slightly once more. "The past is no longer worth mentioning. The one standing before you now is merely a decrepit old man."

Then he looked toward Lansseax again, his expression solemn as he said, "Priestess Lansseax, Her Majesty the Queen has already learned of the accident that occurred in Dectus and has determined the masterminds behind it to be Baron Setil Vance and Baron Corey Torrell. Two hours ago, after being stripped of their noble titles in accordance with the law, they were executed. All other related parties will also receive their due punishment in the shortest possible time."

"In addition," the old knight lowered his eyes, his words sincere, "Her Majesty has ordered me to convey her most heartfelt apologies to Your Reverence and His Highness Lucia. At the same time, she hopes that the friendship between our two nations will not suffer unnecessary harm because of this."

However, Lansseax did not immediately accept the apology. She gave a faint smile and said, "The one they offended was not me, but His Highness Lucia. Whether this matter ends here is not for me to decide—His Highness must be the one to decide."

At those words, Ordovis paused slightly, but no abnormal expression appeared on his face. He merely turned his gaze back to Lucia. "Then, what is Your Highness's opinion?"

"I believe in Her Majesty the Queen's sincerity, and I also believe in the quality of the friendship between the Erdtree and Sky City," Lucia said calmly. "Since the oversteppers have already been executed, this matter ends here."

As his words fell, the faintly discernible tension in the air finally eased. Ordovis gave a deep nod and said, "Then please enter the city together, Your Highness Lucia and Priestess Lansseax. Their Majesties have already prepared a banquet in the Hall of Eternity to welcome Your Highness and cleanse you of the dust of travel."

After receiving Lucia's consent, Ordovis instructed the youth behind him, "Kristoff, arrange for His Highness and Your Reverence to board the carriage."

The green youth named Kristoff stepped forward at the sound of his order and bowed. "Your Highness Lucia, Teacher Lansseax, please come with me."

The two followed him forward for several dozen paces, and soon saw the Ancient Dragon Knights leading two elegant and luxurious carriages toward them. The two carriages were built entirely from Golden Phoebe Wood, and the shells, decorated with gold and gemstones, were carved with gorgeous, intricate patterns. In terms of sheer luxury alone, they were even a step above the imperial carriage from Sky City that Lucia had ridden all this way.

The difference was that this time, the carriages were not pulled by Dragonscale Horses, but by four Trolls whose abdomens had been pierced through by anchor chains and whose bodies were fully clad in golden armor. Suppressed by the anchor chains and the countless runes covering the surface of the armor, the Trolls, who should have been incomparably wild and ferocious, showed unprecedented docility. They halted according to the carriage knights' orders, then all dropped to one knee, like a group of well-trained livestock.

"One carriage will be enough," Lansseax instructed when they reached the carriage. "His Highness and I still have some matters to discuss."

For the two ancient dragons in human form, the interior of either carriage was spacious enough, so Kristoff and the others naturally had no objections. After the two boarded the carriage, the knights also mounted their warhorses one after another, escorting the carriage as it set off into the city.

Leyndell at this time had yet to undergo the baptism of the Shattered War. The so-called main gate of the western city was in fact the gate of the outer city, and the vast area beyond the gate counted only as Leyndell's outskirts. Twilight had not yet completely faded, and through the glass carriage window, they could still see green grass and trees, and blooming flowers everywhere. Occasionally, a few church rooftops adorned with gilding flickered in and out of view amid the cover of the woods.

Inside the carriage, Lansseax had released a divine-power barrier that blocked sound as soon as she sat down. Although the two were separated from the knights outside by only the carriage shell, they could still speak without the slightest reservation.

"Sister Lansseax, did I just hear that youth named Kristoff call you teacher?" Lucia asked, slightly surprised.

The instant he heard that name, he thought of that powerful knight who had captured "the Grafted" Godrick alive during the Shattered War and returned to the tree with a hero's rites. Since that youth was also an Ancient Dragon Knight and had even come out with Chief Ordovis to welcome them, the chance of it merely being the same name was exceedingly small.

"Ah, he's a student I accepted three years ago when I was out traveling. Lord Ordovis is also his teacher. That child is good in every way, he's just a little too quiet—" Lansseax smiled somewhat worriedly. "If there's a chance later, I'll arrange for you two to meet. He didn't come from among the Leyndell Knight apprentices, but is an Ancient Dragon Knight I personally baptized, so there's no problem with his foundations."

Lucia nodded and silently committed it to memory.

"By the way, have you heard of the two barons Lord Ordovis just mentioned?" Lansseax blinked slyly. "It doesn't matter if you haven't. Why not take a casual guess at their origins and positions?"

"I really haven't heard of them, but they were both members of the New Party, weren't they?" Lucia said without hesitation.

He knew that Dectus possessed a small teleporter that led directly to the royal capital. Presumably, the moment he and Sister Lansseax had left, someone there had sent the news to the Queen. This matter was neither small nor trivial; if pursued deliberately, it could absolutely develop into a serious political incident affecting the state of the continent. Therefore, someone had to pay a bloody price for overstepping against a demigod. And if scapegoats had to be found, the Queen had no reason to strike at her own people, did she?

"Correct. One was a squadron captain under the Leyndell Knights, and the other was the garrison commander of Dectus—you can understand that as the number three figure in the Dectus garrison forces. The commander ranked first is concurrently held by the deputy commander of the Leyndell Knights, while the second-ranked deputy commander was away on business. This morning, Baron Corey just so 'happened' to be the highest-ranking commander stationed at Dectus."

Lucia froze after hearing that. In that case, he had been thinking too simply. Originally, he had only assumed that some high-ranking New Party noble, rejecting him as a foreign demigod, had lost his mind for a moment and committed a sin, while the Queen had seized the chance to make an example of two New Party lackeys, giving the ancient dragons an explanation while conveniently knocking some sense into these pawns under Radagon.

But now, hearing that both their positions were so important, and that such a subtle coincidence had just so happened to occur when the incident took place, Her Majesty the Queen's stance also became obscure and difficult to read.

Thinking deeper, that group of knights clearly had not been Dectus's own garrison forces, and the Tree Sentinels leading them were even elite troops stationed in the royal capital. No matter which great figure of the dynasty had directly issued the orders behind the scenes, with a troop mobilization of that scale, could Her Majesty the Queen truly have learned of it only afterward?

"Do you still remember how I told you I learned that you were being obstructed in Dectus?" Lansseax suddenly said.

"It was after finishing your sermon at the Ancient Dragon Temple, when you found a letter on the desk inside the temple—" As he recalled this, Lucia abruptly froze. When he had heard this outside the city earlier, he had likewise preconceived it as the Queen obtaining the news and immediately asking Sister Lansseax to intervene and resolve the situation. But now...

"Thinking about it now, that was also a test of my attitude, wasn't it?" Lansseax said softly.

After hearing that, Lucia could not say a single word for a long time.

If the situation in the Lands Between was likened to a vast chessboard, then before this, relying on the first-move advantage brought by his memories of his previous life, he had once thought he was a player seated as an equal with the great powers of every side.

Yet first there had been the Gloam-Eyed Queen, who had appeared only fleetingly, and now there was this Queen Eternal, who was clearly close at hand, yet impossible to see through no matter what—Lucia realized with a chill that in their eyes, he was probably nothing more than a chess piece.

"Don't think too much," Lansseax's warm comfort came by his ear just then. "As early as the War of the Gods, Her Majesty Marika was already an overlord whose name shook the world. If you want to contend with someone like her, relying on intellect and strategy alone is far from enough—remember, at the gambling table of power, strength is the true bargaining chip."

"So, when facing opponents stronger than yourself, you must neither be arrogant and conceited, nor belittle yourself. You only need to calm your heart and slowly grow."

She could not help reaching out again to rub his head, smiling as she said, "Don't lose heart. One day, you will walk ahead of all of them."