MTL - Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 906 888. Flame and Loyalty

 “There are so many things that I can’t understand.”

Emma's chief priest's voice began to reveal a hint of determination.

 “The important thing is how to face it and solve it!”

"Lorenzo, you are right. We are the pillars of Lothric's royal power, and we naturally respect the power of the royal family. But at the same time, we must also do something in this world that is walking on the edge of the abyss."

“Now there is clearly a way to solve the problem without harming the dignity of the king. It would be foolish for us to wait and not take action.”

She rubbed a ring on her finger, which had a white image of the priesthood engraved on it.

“Take your evidence and follow me to go directly to the knight leader. These matters cannot be delayed any longer. The more chaotic the world is, the more chaotic people’s hearts will be. Who knows what troubles may be caused in the end?”

"And this kind witness, please repeat what you just said in front of the head of the Knights of Lothric."

With that said, Priest Emma led the two of them towards the outside of the church with a vigorous pace that was not suitable for their age.

These people's hair is messy and their steps are staggering. It is obvious that they have been affected by the increasingly weak First Fire.

 But how far are these people from becoming immortal?

 As the First Fire weakens, the curse of the undead continues to spread.

“I’ve never seen it before.” Lorenzo also took a piece of it in his hand. He was confused at first, then shook his head and crushed the piece of white ash on his iron glove.

 Hope that clergy can bring light to the world again.

This city occupies an entire side of a mountain range, and it is incredibly broad.

"What's this?"

Rosalia, who was once the princess of Lothric, was understood and sympathized with her plight by Emma, ​​the priest, and was willing to help.

Before Lorenzo could finish asking, Priest Emma interrupted him sharply.

The alienation of the souls of these Lothric residents has begun to manifest itself physically: their bodies are gaunt and lanky, and their hair is messy and luxuriant.

  After all, I only said that the ‘officer’ was trustworthy, and it was unclear whether the ‘knight’ would help.

When the witcher was discussing with others in the Underworld Church how to retrieve Gertrude, both Leonard and Klimt said that Priest Emma was a trustworthy candidate.

This is a curse that comes from the world on the verge of collapse. It is far more powerful and has a wider range of effects than any curse Lan En has seen or heard in the Magical Middle Ages.

Lan murmured.

 It seems that the Lothric knight captain, known as "Brother Maruk", is not regarded as a companion to him.

As long as the circle of darkness, the symbol of the undead, selects them, they will probably turn into wandering ghosts who kill everyone on sight in a short time.

“What’s the point of guarding the dragon training ground now?”

 “It’s just the right time, they’re still here.”

“I originally invited him and Knight Commander Maluk to come out of the inner city and have a frank talk with me.”

 “Toward the high wall?” Lorenzo asked doubtfully. "Is the leader at the high wall now? Shouldn't he be?"

At this time, as if to reflect the low and desperate atmosphere, floating objects in the form of snowflakes or white ash after burning paper began to faintly fall down from the sky.

Even the ‘Black Sun Curse’ proposed by [Mad Mage] Etibad said: It will cause the return of Lilith, the **** of darkness, who brings destruction to the world.

 But when the priest Emma passed by them, these people would still cast their last hopeful eyes on this priest.

Three people were walking along the high-walled road.

 “Brother Maluk?”

The omen is the appearance of "sixteen maidens wearing golden crowns, born during the eclipse, filling rivers and valleys with blood", preparing for Lilith's second return.

  That is, about [Angel Daughter] Ge Cide.

At this time, Priest Emma and Lorenzo in front also noticed the things floating in the sky.

Compared with the 'immortal curse' that Lan En has seen with his own eyes, this curse can be called 'mild and lovely'.

 Inexplicably, he felt that the darkness deep in his 'vision' was about to move.

These people are not immortal yet, otherwise they would have been cleared out long ago.

 Lan En reached out his hand in confusion and caught a piece of falling white ash from mid-air.

 You can see muddy and skinny people everywhere on the road.

Lan En glanced to the side. Lorenzo's voice just now clearly revealed a solemn tone.

I saw this kind of flaky white ash floating over the entire huge city of Lothric.

Lothric's outer city wall is almost so wide that in addition to being used for military purposes, it has also been transformed into residential buildings, markets, and taverns by some people.

Lan En looked up.

It’s just that because Lorenzo followed him all the way, Lan En didn’t find the right time to reveal the situation to this trusted officiant.

The chief priest of Emma remained silent and just led the two of them on the high wall of Lothric's outer city.

 Lan originally wanted to reveal the purpose of his coming to the priest Emma.

Lan En’s eyes were deep. Even the holy city that was known as ‘guarding the fire-passing ceremony’ has now become like this.

"This is."

 “Let’s study this kind of thing later.”

 They don’t have much energy to pay attention to this insignificant phenomenon at this time.

 The First Fire has weakened to this point, and the order of the world is collapsing. It is not impossible for any vision to occur.

 The most important thing now is to advance the progress of the fire passing ceremony.

The intelligence brought back by Lorenzo confirmed that at this time of decline, a group of forces was uniting to target Lothric. This became the last straw that broke the balance of Emma's heart.

 Previously, in order to maintain the majesty of the royal family, she had always followed the rules. No direct statements or statements were made.

 After all, she was once the wet nurse of Prince Lothric. The prince has been frail and sick since he was born, and it was her constant [miracles] that allowed him to grow up.

 Whether it is out of emotion or duty, she should not disobey the royal family.

 But now, after all, the situation is tense.

Soon, flakes of white ash from the sky continued to fall, falling on the already confused residents and soldiers of Lothric.

 And the three of them also arrived at the place where they agreed to meet on the high wall.

 Two Lothric knights were standing opposite each other in that position, and the atmosphere seemed unharmonious.

One of them was dressed exactly like Lorenzo, with a flaming crimson blouse and cloak over his armor.

 But for another knight, the shape of his armor is no different, but the color of his blouse and cloak is blue.

Both people are wearing swords and shields. At this time, the swords are in sheaths on their waists and the shields are on their hands.

Lan En looked at this scene and narrowed his eyes slightly.

In the tradition of knights, red represents bravery and fearlessness. In this world, it also symbolizes being ‘protected by fire’.

 But blue represents loyalty from beginning to end.

 Loyalty to the master one serves.

Generally speaking, only the personal guards of lords and generals will be awarded this color.

Just like Vernon Roche who once met Lan, he was dressed in blue that Foltest put on him.

 Now, the confrontation between red and blue is like "maintenance of the flame" confronting "loyalty to the master".

Lorenzo was the first to step forward and salute to the Lothric knight in the red smock.

 “Head of the group.”

 He greeted, and then stood on the red side of the two knights.

 “Hello to you, brother Maluk.”

After waiting for the station to pass, Lorenzo greeted the knight on the opposite side, and his voice was cold, almost entirely out of etiquette.

 The knight in blue smock on the opposite side did not seem surprised by this situation.

Priest Emma coughed and intervened in the conversation.

Lann looked at the conversation that represented the two pillars of Lothric and stood on one side leaning against the wall, minding his own business.

But his eyes occasionally slanted through the silver hair on his forehead, looking in the direction of the conversation.

The witcher's extraordinary hearing allowed him to easily hear conversations at this distance, even though those guys thought they were not loud.

  Priest Emma began to tell the knight leader about the riot on the bridge not long ago, as well as the anomalies discovered by Lorenzo and the others.

 “We can’t wait any longer.”

The priest Emma made the assertion.

"As long as the First Fire does not resume burning for one day, the world will be closer and closer to collapse! Think about it, Your Excellency, Captain! Even in the Knights of Lothric, there are undead people who have been removed from their knighthood by your own hands. How much?"

　　　.Nearly one-third.”

 The Knight Commander's pain could even be heard in the dull sound under his helmet.

 “That’s what you want.” Suddenly, Knight Commander Maluk on the other side interrupted and choked. "Should we ignore the royal order and forcibly carry out the fire passing ceremony?"

“With all due respect, Your Excellency the Head of the Group, and Your Excellency the Priest, are you planning to rebel?!”

 “You are indeed a bit out of your mind when it comes to being ‘outspoken’, Knight Commander Maluk!”

 The knight leader suddenly turned his head from facing Emma's priest, and a stern voice came from under his helmet.

 “How dare you accuse me! Accuse Emma’s priest of treason?!”

“If you really plan to do that, then I will really do that, Your Excellency, Commander.”

The Knights in Blue faced tit-for-tat with their leader without giving in.

"We swore allegiance to the royal family and swore an oath to King Osroais. Later, in the war to exterminate the demons, we followed the great prince Lorian to defeat the group of filthy creatures who tried to get involved in the First Fire."

“Prince Lorian single-handedly defeated the Demon Prince, the last hope for the continuation of the filthy species. Since then, we have also sworn allegiance to the great prince Lorian.”

"Don't forget this, Your Excellency, Master. Because at least half of the knights today remember the oath we swore like me and are ready to sacrifice their lives for it."

The words of the knight in blue made the knight leader clenched his iron glove suddenly.

 But he still tried to calm his voice so as not to become a trigger in this tense atmosphere.

“But Lothric is the country of the Fire Passer! The fundamental reason why we established the country is to maintain the Fire Passer Ceremony!”

“King Osroais must also hope that the fire transmission ceremony will start as soon as possible to stabilize the world that is sliding into the abyss!”

"Then bring out the order from King Osroais." Knight Commander Maluk said coldly.

“We are loyal to the royal family. If you have an order from His Majesty, of course we will comply with it. But the problem is.”

"do you have?"

 The Knight Commander could no longer say a word.

 (End of this chapter)