"Sleepyhead, you must be so ill-mannered because you don't have a mother. If not, I'll discipline you in her place right now."
The Mimic Tear was already displeased with Thiollier. Now that he was provoking her mother, the strongest Spirit Ash was filled with surging fury. She could not tolerate it, neither as a subject nor as a daughter.
"Lord Thiollier, every word I've spoken is true. Please believe me."
Although Frieren's tone was sincere, she did not stop her subordinate.
Ultimately, he was just an outsider. There was no need to interrupt one of her own when they took the initiative to uphold the king's dignity.
The Lands Between do not value magnanimity; power is what matters.
"This is an insult!"
"—I will not forgive you again."
Thiollier menacingly drew his weapon and charged forward like a meteor. What greeted him was a Gavel of Haima.
With a loud clang, his poise was instantly broken, and his body was sent flying back uncontrollably.
In truth, the Mimic Tear had held back, not dealing a fatal blow, but it was enough to jolt him to his senses.
The confusion in his eyes dissipated slightly, replaced by bitterness. Right, his mind had been so muddled that he had forgotten one fact:
This was the presence of a monarch.
Not even the Elden Lord could be deceived like this. How outrageous!
Mustering his courage, Thiollier rose again and threw poison, but unfortunately, the Mimic Tear exhaled a breath of Night Mist that neutralized it all.
She then retaliated with an unadorned Gavel of Haima. The heavy blow struck his soft abdomen, twisting his internal organs.
Unsurprisingly, he was once again knocked to the ground.
"Sleepyhead, with your meager abilities, isn't it laughable that Trina told you, 'Go and take care of Miquella and his king'?"
At this point, Thiollier had no choice but to believe it—believe that he lacked talent, and even more so, strength.
A pity.
To have chased her all this way only to be of no help, relying in the end on a Tarnished who wasn't even loyal to Trina.
"You need to calm down." Frieren had no interest in further breaking the man's spirit and changed the subject. "My intuition tells me there are still a few more opportunities to receive messages from the nectar. Wait a moment."
She once again stepped forward and drank the nectar.
In the fading moments of life, another warning came:
"To him, a god is but a cage. An imprisoned deity can save no one..."
The silver-haired girl shook her head and sat up again, relaying the message.
Then, to the astonishment of the other three, she returned to Trina's side, deftly drank the new nectar, and willingly lay down.
"Kill Miquella. Grant him release."
"—But you will die as well. Are you sure? If you have no will to live, I won't meddle and won't bother thinking of another way."
Having adapted to the other's methods, Frieren canceled the one-way connection and instead used her vast spiritual power to share the conversation.
This, of course, included her allies, and Thiollier stared at the stamen in shock.
She felt at ease.
Previously, Frieren had to worry about making a wrong choice and be extra cautious, but now she had more perspectives to consider. ...In the end, she would have to defeat Miquella through her own strength.
"...Thank you, from the bottom of my heart."
"I originally wanted to advise Your Majesty that you could not win without the intent to kill, but now I see that this will to save is the very source of your strength. Please see it through. Please save me and stop Miquella."
Trina extended her hand, and Frieren grasped it, nodding. In that moment, the two made a pact.
A faint smile seemed to appear on the deep-purple girl's face as she murmured:
"Perhaps you, too, are my king of promise."
"What is the meaning of that phrase?"
"As a child, Miquella admired his brother Radahn and promised to make him king while he himself would become a god. He is now on the verge of fulfilling that wish."
"Huh?"
There were so many things to retort that only an onomatopoeia came to mind. Even the ever-serious Melina couldn't maintain her composure. The group looked at each other, confirming it wasn't their ears that were deceiving them.
Before they could ask, Trina thoughtfully continued to explain:
"You should know the characteristics of the Hornsent by now. He used Mohg's Omen corpse to house Radahn's soul, then controlled it through bewitchment, creating a being with the abilities of blood-sucking and gravity.—"
"And it is the Starscourge General in his prime, a young version stronger than the most powerful demigod in history—a king of promise who is truly invincible."
Everyone was stunned speechless.
Miquella's wild imagination and unconventional thinking were truly world-shocking.
Thinking about it carefully, it all made sense.
It also explained why the Haligtree army marched south. Malenia was likely prompted by her brother to urge Radahn to fulfill his promise, but he refused, leading to their great battle and the war of Aeonia.
Many things that had previously seemed inexplicable were now clarified by Trina. This trip was well worth it; the intelligence was simply explosive.
While everyone was brainstorming, Frieren was concerned with only one thing:
"So, what is Radahn's opinion on this?"
"It's hard to say if Radahn can even have an opinion, as his condition is terrible."
Trina didn't elaborate, but everyone understood. Who could withstand being modified so drastically by Miquella? It was no different from being dead.
Just a wisp of a remnant soul.
To regard such a cobbled-together corpse as the king of promise was, in a sense, too bizarre. It further confirmed that Miquella could not be reasoned with normally; he had to be defeated first.
"For Ranni's sake, I will grant Radahn release."
In truth, Frieren was quite looking forward to seeing how strong the king of promise would be in his complete form. And he would likely be accompanied by a deity—such a deluxe combination was extravagant just to think about.
They were indeed qualified to compete for the throne to rule the Lands Between, but first, they would have to face her in a decisive battle.
"Is there any other intelligence?"
"Of course. Although my conscious time is short, in return for your kindness, I will tell you everything—"
"The Mother of Fingers exists. She is one of the main culprits. She is hidden in the direction of the Church of High Priest Ymir. You must be wary of her moving, and the possibility of her cooperating with Miquella cannot be ruled out. After all, they share a common enemy."
"Another point: in the sealed spiral tower, there is a pair of sibling Lords of Cinder. They also bear a deep grudge against you."
Before the words had even faded, Frieren rubbed her temples with a headache.
"They're all here."
After confirming the presence of Aldrich and Yhorm the Giant, she had been wondering where the Twin Princes of Lothric were. It turns out they had unexpectedly crashed into the Shadow's barrier.
"As expected of the nexus land, it's quite lively."
She must re-evaluate the forces needed to attack the spiral tower; the enemies were no small matter.
Despite this, Frieren was even more excited. The return of old rivals from the past, plus the addition of masterminds like Miquella and the Mother of Fingers—rounding them all up at once would save her the effort.
Although the bad news was alarming, seeing their pillar of strength remain so calm and composed, everyone's worries eased somewhat.
"This is as far as I can maintain this illusory conversation."
There was a hint of regret in Trina's voice. If circumstances allowed, she truly wanted to have a proper conversation with the monarch closest to the Elden Ring about her legendary experiences, but alas, she could only bid farewell.
"Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time after all this is resolved."
"When that time comes, I will need your strength, Trina."
Frieren seemed to sense her concern and offered reassurance. A promise is a promise; they would meet again in the near future.
"May Your Majesty be ever victorious."
As soon as her voice faded, the illusion shattered layer by layer, and everyone returned to the scene of the deep-purple garden.
The biggest difference was that Trina's head had drooped as she fell into a deep slumber. Her sleeping face seemed more peaceful than before; perhaps she would have a good dream.
The three-person team reacted quickly and reset their formation. After all, a powerful enemy still awaited.
Thiollier, kneeling on the ground, was stunned for a moment, then said sincerely, "I must apologize for my earlier offense, Your Majesty. And I thank you for being willing to rescue Lady Trina."
"I accept. It's a small matter. What will you do now?"
"I'll rest here for a bit, then catch up to you. I won't miss the chance to settle things with Ranni's followers."
"Alright."
A battle born of resolve needs no further words, so Frieren trusted that their wills would guide them to meet again.
The silver-haired girl strode out of the cave like a meteor, without a hint of reluctance. After all, there would be plenty of time later.
Before the Deep-Purple Garden Site of Grace, she stretched lazily, loosening her muscles, and then said:
"We need to return as quickly as possible to rally the troops and formulate a plan. We'll have to force a march. Are you ready?"
As expected, Melina and the Mimic Tear nodded firmly.
They, too, understood the gravity of the situation. The enemies included the Mother of Fingers and the Twin Princes of Lothric, whom Frieren had once defeated only with great effort.
This lineup is troublesome.
In terms of the number of top-tier combatants, they no longer held an advantage; they were evenly matched.
Although with Her Majesty's personality, she was likely considering "I'll take on all three," that was unnecessary. Her opponent was the king of promise.
If they, as her subjects, allowed Frieren to be caught in a situation where she was outnumbered, it would be a joke.
Having decided, the three of them set off immediately.
Meanwhile, another Finger Ruin was quite lively, with magic flying through the air.
The Fingercreepers frantically attacked Ranni, who was beside the hanging bell, trying to stop her from ringing it.
At the very least, it could not be entrusted to someone like her, tainted with the malevolent aura of the Two Fingers.
The every move of the blue-haired doll was a tremendous insult.
Clang, clang!
However, these attacks were easily blocked by Rellana. With a flourish of her twin swords, she intercepted all the malicious magic. Even as the Fingercreepers threw themselves at her with all their might, they couldn't shake her defensive line in the slightest.
She even had an opening to—unleash a long-range sword beam that swept across a wide area, sending flesh and blood flying wherever it passed.
The Twin Moon Knight's swordsmanship had become even sharper, a great leap forward after a long time.
Hesitation has no place among the strong. After her family united and Caria was reunified, Rellana was single-minded.
Her skills once again had a purpose, not for Marika's schemes and plots, but for a greater cause—to follow the new god and king in reshaping the Lands Between.
With Rellana's support, Ranni could focus entirely on studying the hanging bell, sounding it while using magical resonance to probe.
Dong!
As the melodious sound spread, the Fingercreepers had no choice but to retreat. It was too late to stop her, and besides, they had been heavily wounded, for their enemies numbered far more than two.
An elite unit of the Carian Knight Order had already gathered and was acting in concert.
"How is it, Ranni?"
"Yes, with the call of two hanging bells, I can get a rough location. It's in the direction of the northern church... but I can't guarantee the Mother of Fingers is still there. She may have moved."
"Your Highness's guess is likely correct. Our spies have spotted Magus High Priest Ymir leaving the church."
This latest battle report sparked the imagination.
Rellana teased, "It's not surprising. With his cautious personality, he was bound to make a move once he discovered our large-scale investigation."
"No, don't oversimplify things. This is likely a precursor to a larger move."
"Are you referring to Miquella?"
"It may not be Miquella mediating and plotting, but our potential enemies have no reason to wait to be defeated one by one. Banding together is their best option. I suspect Frieren's group has also made a discovery, which spurred them to action."
Ranni couldn't help but look towards the Cerulean Coast. There was no major disturbance there, still calm and quiet, so the problem likely originated underground.
In any case, the main team must have made an unexpected discovery.
She pondered for a moment before saying, "Let's go back."
"So early?"
"The plan has changed. Cancel the investigation of the Finger Ruins. Return to Castle Ensis to rendezvous with the main team. They must have extraordinary intelligence, and we need to formulate a new plan based on it."
"Since that's your judgment, let's move out at once. Send the order—force march, return journey."
They sped towards Castle Ensis, kicking up a trail of dust.
_____
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