A Crucible Knight? Tell That to My Buckler!

Stormveil Castle had a new master, and the news shocked everyone in Limgrave.

No one had expected a ragtag army to defeat Godrick's Soldiers. But with order long since shattered, a change of rulers meant little to ordinary people struggling to survive. The people of Limgrave were watching and waiting, though most simply did not care.

The new regime hardly had the resources to flaunt its power, either. Taking Stormveil Castle had been a hasty undertaking, and defeating the Shardbearer Godrick had been driven by nothing more than hot-blooded resolve. Not only were there no plans or arrangements for what came next, the new regime had not even secured full control of the castle. Remnants of Godrick's Soldiers still lurked in its remote corners, and Godrick had left far too many messes behind. Compared with corpses strewn everywhere, starving residents, and buildings on the verge of collapse, those remaining soldiers were barely more than a minor irritation.

Kenneth Haight was run off his feet. Taking stock of supplies, restoring order, repairing the castle, planning everything out-every day, he was either handling official business or on his way to handle it. He had yet to taste the benefits of occupying Stormveil Castle, but he had already had more than his fill of hardship.

Although he had promoted Gostoc to oversee logistics, and Gostoc was doing a very good job, the mountain of administrative work still left him groaning. Finally, unable to hold out any longer, he dragged Rogier in to help. He figured that such a learned young man was bound to be useful. Only after putting him to work did he realize what a treasure he had found. Rogier was reliable, thorough, and, most importantly, extraordinarily patient. He was excellent at getting along with the people-a born civil servant.

Kenneth Haight was so moved he nearly cried. He made up his mind that he could not let such a talent get away. Rogier had initially agreed to help for just three days, but those three days turned into another three, and then another three after that. Nine days had passed, and he was practically Stormveil's second-in-command of administration.

In any case, the administrative problems were more or less under control. As for the remaining soldiers within Stormveil Castle, Kenneth Haight asked Nepheli for help. When he heard that her surname was Lou, he froze for a few seconds, but ultimately said nothing more. Nepheli readily agreed to his request. The Tarnished had saved her life, so she ought to repay him. Besides, she enjoyed a good fight. This let her indulge her hobby and repay her debt at the same time.

Unfortunately, there was far less fighting than Nepheli Lou had imagined. As remnants of a defeated army, their morale was naturally low. Aside from the Exile Soldiers, whose crimes were already so grave that surrender meant certain death and who therefore fought desperately, most of Godrick's Soldiers chose to surrender.

Godrick had lost because everyone had abandoned him. He had seized not only Tarnished for grafting materials, but his own people as well, alienating them long ago. These remaining troops had stayed out of the initial fighting precisely because they intended to slack off. Now that Godrick was dead, they were probably happier than the ragtag army. The moment Nepheli arrived, they surrendered without another word.

Even being sent into a mine to dig up Smithing Stones until they died would be better than serving under Godrick!

That was how they all felt.

The ragtag army had risen from humble beginnings and had little foundation or resources. Kenneth Haight was overjoyed when Godrick's Soldiers surrendered. Sending trained soldiers to mine ore would be a terrible waste of talent; they might as well return to their old trade. With a wave of his hand, he assigned the remaining troops to Edgar. After all, Edgar had always been responsible for military affairs within their rebellious trio.

Compared with Godrick's coldhearted treatment, this generosity and favorable treatment were worlds apart. The remaining soldiers were deeply grateful, won over completely, and pledged themselves to the new regime.

Surprised by Kenneth Haight's magnanimity, Edgar paid him a special visit.

"Aren't you worried those soldiers might only be pretending to surrender, then rise up again once we let our guard down?" Edgar asked.

Kenneth Haight was stunned. "What? They might pretend to surrender? How could anyone go back on their word!"

Edgar: "..."

He had thought Kenneth Haight had some foolproof plan. Instead, the bastard had never even considered the possibility of a rebellion.

With no other choice, Edgar had to clean up the mess himself. Fortunately, there were several Banished Knights among the remaining soldiers. With the support of their former superior, the Banished Knights received promotions, finally ensuring stability within the army.

And so, the problems posed by the remaining troops in Stormveil Castle were resolved one by one, and the new regime regained control over most of the castle. But just as everything was going smoothly, Nepheli suffered an unexpected defeat.

"It's a Crucible Knight, on a sealed-off cliff within Stormveil Castle." Kenneth Haight gathered everyone and informed them of the news.

"A Crucible Knight?" Rogier recalled what he had read in ancient texts. "They followed Godfrey, the first Elden Lord, in conquering the entire Lands Between. There were only a handful of them. Why would one be in Stormveil Castle?"

"Whatever else he was, Godrick was still a direct descendant of Godfrey. He may have been a disappointment, but that golden bloodline was very real." Kenneth Haight sighed softly. "Perhaps it was precisely thanks to a Crucible Knight's escort that Godrick escaped all the way from the Royal Capital of Leyndell to Stormveil Castle."

"If they shared that history, why was the Crucible Knight assigned to guard a sealed-off cliff? Had he appeared during the siege, we might not have won," Rogier asked again.

This time, Nepheli answered. "Because Godrick committed the evil of grafting. Such vile acts sullied even the wind. I fought the Crucible Knight. He was not only a formidable warrior, but a man of noble character. He was King Godfrey's knight, and would naturally know that his former lord would never tolerate such atrocities from his descendants. Perhaps his attempts to remonstrate failed, so he chose to part ways with Godrick and was ultimately confined beneath the cliff."

The reasoning made perfect sense, and everyone nodded.

"Then defeating Godrick did him a favor, too. Might he join us?" Kenneth Haight asked.

"Impossible." Edgar shook his head.

"Why?"

"Because he is a knight!"

"He is a knight? What kind of answer is that?"

Kenneth was utterly confused.

Edgar declared haughtily, "You're not a knight. You wouldn't understand."

The two nearly came to blows on the spot. Roger and Nepheli each had to hold one of them back.

"Then we'll have to defeat him." Rogier changed the subject. "How about sending soldiers?"

"First, the cliff is too narrow to deploy many troops. Second, a Crucible Knight is no ordinary opponent. The casualties would likely be heavy."

"Then Miss Nepheli and I will challenge him together."

"I'll go too," Edgar said.

"What about your injuries?"

"They haven't fully healed, but I can at least offer you the protection of my incantations."

Kenneth Haight considered it. "Should we ask Lady Sellen and Mr. Blaidd?"

Rogier shook his head. "Lady Sellen exhausted herself earlier and has yet to recover. As for Mr. Blaidd, although he remains in contact with us, his position and allegiance mean that he has already made it clear he will no longer take part in operations in Stormveil Castle."

"In that case, we shouldn't insist." Despite his high position, Kenneth Haight had always been considerate of others, which was why he enjoyed such prestige among the demi-humans. "But with only the three of you, won't it be too dangerous?"

Edgar shrugged. "There will certainly be risks, but there's nothing we can do about that."

Nepheli frowned. "What about the Tarnished? He's a Tarnished who can see grace. Didn't all his injuries heal after he touched a Site of Grace? We'd have a better chance if he joined the fight."

Kenneth Haight looked out the window at the enormous tower rising into the clouds. "The Tarnished went to the Divine Tower."

Divine Towers were special structures, with only six in the entire Lands Between. Their summits were said to be where divine envoys descended-the sacred places closest to the gods in the mortal world.

The ancient bridge was already in ruins. No one knew when the Divine Tower had been built.

The Tarnished stepped onto the magical mechanism in the center of the Divine Tower. A black curtain flowed down like water, and the entire floor seemed to answer a divine summons, defying gravity as it rose with a rumble.

A few minutes later, the floor stopped. Only one more flight of steps separated him from the summit of the Divine Tower.

Looking outside, the Tarnished realized he was already above the white clouds. The entire Lands Between stretched before his eyes. Limgrave and the Weeping Peninsula had shrunk into two tiny patches, while in other directions, at the limits of his vision, five other enormous towers loomed faintly through the mist. Like five pillars holding up the sky, they radiated sanctity and antiquity, elegance and solemnity.

"No matter how many times I see it, this view is breathtaking."

The Tarnished did not linger for long. He had seen this scenery many times before.

He turned and climbed the steps, and the sacred place closest to the gods unfolded before him in its entirety.

The circular space was broad and flat, its floor engraved with intricate, sacred patterns. Eight enormous stone monuments stood around it. These structures filled the place with an air of holiness, yet there was not a trace of human life. Instead, a desolate atmosphere washed over him. It was so silent that it seemed the entire world had forgotten it.

In fact, it truly had been forgotten.

The Elden Ring had shattered, and the demigods had waged endless wars to claim its pieces. The Shattering had devastated the entire Lands Between. Those who survived struggled to stay alive and could not even fill their stomachs, so naturally, the rituals of worship had ceased as well.

The floor engraved with sacred patterns was broken and ruined, and the eight enormous stone monuments had long since gathered dust. Vines and weeds had claimed this place over the years. Without anyone to tend it, even a god's sacred ground was nothing more than an ugly, neglected garden.

A strange thing stood in the center of the summit. It was the divine envoy, enormous enough to stand three stories tall. In appearance, it resembled the index and middle fingers of a human hand. And so, drawing on what they knew, humans had named it the Two Fingers.

A divine envoy had actually been named by humans. The Tarnished did not know whether to call that arrogance or irony. He only found it rather absurd.

The Two Fingers had long since died. Its remains had calcified into a fossil, and weeds had sprouted from cracks in the stone, swaying in the wind like the highest form of blasphemy and insolence.

The Tarnished had no intention of clearing them away.

He did not revere gods.

Nor did he reject them.

He had his own goal, and he would pursue it without wavering. It was just like the miraculous art of Shield Poking: what others did was none of his business. All he needed was to do his own thing well.

If a god was a friend, he would accept them; if a god was an enemy, he would destroy them.

To achieve his goal, he would use every power available to him and destroy every obstacle in his path.

It was that simple.

The Tarnished had come here to obtain a god's help.

He had defeated Godrick, a Shardbearer, and thus become a new Shardbearer himself.

Those so-called shards were Great Runes. And a Great Rune was an exceptionally special and important piece of the shattered Elden Ring.

As the last descendant of the Golden Lineage, Godrick had possessed a Great Rune. After his defeat, it had fallen into the Tarnished's hands.

[Dimmed Great Rune of Godrick]: A dim, lightless Great Rune that has lost its blessing.

As its name suggested, the Divine Tower was a place where a god bestowed blessings. The Tarnished had come to use divine power to rekindle the Great Rune.

The dimmed Great Rune seemed to be the key that activated the ritual. The Tarnished touched the shard to the remains of the Two Fingers, and a sudden burst of light made the Great Rune shine once more.

[Godrick's Great Rune]: The Great Rune that once belonged to the Shardbearer Godrick. Positioned at the center of the Elden Ring, it is also known as the anchor ring. Its blessing raises all of its bearer's attributes. The Elden Lord Godfrey and his descendants comprise the Golden Lineage. They were the first demigods.

The process was neither complicated nor sacred. The Tarnished even felt that he was facing not a divine envoy, but a precise machine running automatically.

It was like a subway turnstile. Swipe your card, and you could pass; without a card, it would never let you through.

So what exactly was a divine envoy? And what was a god?

Before the Tarnished could find an answer, a small Site of Grace appeared on the summit.

Compared with the ritual that had just rekindled the Great Rune, the sudden appearance of grace seemed far more like a miracle.

The Tarnished touched the Site of Grace. A warm, thick current of power surged into his body, replenishing his stamina and restoring his mind, making him moan involuntarily.

"Ah~ Goddess Marika's touch is as good as ever."

Melina appeared, her pretty face stern. "I thought you would show the gods a little more reverence here."

The Tarnished asked, "Do gods need mortals' reverence?"

Melina countered, "Do gods not need mortals' reverence?"

"If a god needs mortals' devotion to feel happy and pleased, are they still a god?"

Melina fell silent.

The Tarnished smiled. Discussing such abstruse matters would not change the world, so he changed the subject. "It's rare for you to appear on your own, Melu. Did you need something from me?"

Melina composed herself, her expression returning to calm as she lowered her head slightly. "I'm sorry. In truth, I have been watching you all this time. I doubted whether you truly received the guidance of grace, and whether you would rise to face the challenges ahead... In the end, my worries were unfounded. Torrent believed in you from the beginning. I was not sincere enough."

The Tarnished spread his arms.

Melina: ?

"If apologies worked, what would we need laws for?" the Tarnished declared indignantly. "Melu, your lack of trust has deeply wounded my pure and noble heart. Give me a hug, and only then will I forgive you!"

Melina ignored the request automatically and said expressionlessly, "As compensation, I can take you to Roundtable Hold. It is a gathering place for the many Tarnished guided by grace-in other words, heroes. Reaching it should be very helpful for gathering information and recruiting companions."

"Still talking about work, still talking about work!" the Tarnished complained angrily. "Melu, have you even recognized your mistake? If your ideological sights aren't aligned, you'll never hit your professional target. Unless you change this aloof attitude of yours, so detached from the people, it'll be very hard for me to cooperate with you!"

It was Melina's first time hearing such a novel argument, and she vaguely felt it made some sense. After all, without sufficient resolve and perseverance, one truly could not fulfill a mission or reach a goal. Curious, she asked, "How do you need me to change?"

The Tarnished spread his arms again. "Give me a hug!"

Melina felt she should never have asked.

"Understood. If you change your mind and wish to visit Roundtable Hold, call for me again at a Site of Grace."

"Hey, don't go! Fine, no hug. At least let me hold your hand. Or let me look at your legs, touch your feet?"

Melina did not respond.

The Tarnished had originally wanted to level up as well, but now he could only return to Stormveil Castle in a huff.

Kenneth Haight told him about the discovery of the Crucible Knight. Just when he needed to blow off steam, someone had delivered a punching bag.

"A Crucible Knight? Gostoc, bring me my Small Roundshield. Let me solo him!"