Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 322 Betrayal
Tomb of the Gods.

Cassius, the chief elder of Ceria, stood silently on the cliff outside the God's Sleeping Egg, his iron-like eyes fixed firmly on the terrifying black shadow in the crystal.

Behind him, hundreds of caves were emitting brilliant light, and countless threads of magic were entwined on the surface of the crystal egg, constantly weakening the remaining power of the evil god. In front of him, increasingly strong tides of magic were surging out from the abyss, washing over the surface of the rocks, shaking the flying sand and rocks to the ground.

Between the two, there was only the lonely and desolate figure of the old man, his skinny frame wrapped in a robe as dark as night, like a battle flag dancing wildly in the strong wind.

"Is this the limit?" he murmured.

This war never started when 300,000 dynasty troops set out for the East Continent, nor did it start at this Magic Conference. Instead, it has never stopped since Esti was sealed here by the power of the world thousands of years ago.

The bloodshed and sacrifice had already begun. These 132 high-level Night Mages were the strongest foundation of the magic town of Selia. Before them, countless generations of Night Mages had spent their lives sitting in these narrow caves where it was difficult to even turn around, burning out all their primordial magic power and fighting against the remains of the evil god with insignificant mortal blood.

Just as floating dust fills up the vast ocean, sparks boil the rivers.

It was precisely because of their thousand-year-long consumption of blood for blood that Esti's power failed to slowly recover over the long years, but instead was eternally and steadily weakened at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye until now.

Now, even if Esti wakes up again from her slumber, she is just a slightly stronger enemy that can be defeated compared to the despair that shattered Fam Azra and destroyed the Eternal City.

And this is the limit of what the people of Selia can sacrifice for this world.

The sealed stone door behind him slowly opened, and Antonia, the Grand Priest of the Temple of Night - also Rein's teacher, the true number one person in Selia besides the three elders, walked slowly in.

He walked to Cassius' side and reported in a low voice: "Teacher, a rebellion broke out in the city. Victor and Selina's subordinates have all transformed into mutant star beasts and are attacking key institutions including the State Guesthouse. In addition, we have found traces of corrupt believers cooperating with them."

"They are just a bunch of insects that only dare to collude with each other in the dark," Cassius said coldly. "The civil strife is just a decoy. They are just trying to attract our attention and find an opportunity to destroy the Tomb of the Gods. Don't pay any attention to them."

"Yes." Anthony replied, with some hesitation on her face, "It's just that the situation in the city is chaotic at the moment, and most of our elite forces are stationed around the cemetery. We are unable to take care of the situation in the state guesthouse in the short term. There are only two princesses resting there. If we do nothing, will the other princesses, especially Lucia, blame us?"

Cassius did not answer, but looked at the junior whom he had trained for many years with a strange look, and said: "This is not a question you would ask, Antonia."

"Although we haven't met for long, you have been out and about these days, so you should know that prince better than I do. Today, when the relationship with the Golden New Party is deteriorating, he can take the lead among the demigods to express his position and send out 120,000 elite troops without hesitation to participate in this war that the Ancient Dragon Dynasty could have avoided. Would such a being make things difficult for us because of the groundless 'negligence' you mentioned?"

"Yes." The great patriarch who was so powerful outside hurriedly lowered his head and said timidly, "Student. I was just worried about the war situation and was a little dull for a while. I hope the teacher will forgive me."

Cassius turned his head away from looking at him, and had no intention of further questioning, but just sighed inaudibly. Including himself, the three elders of Selia were all similar to the two origin magic masters, and were extraordinary beings who had one foot out of the mortal level, but the talents of the three were not as good as those two. Since the flesh and blood body could not be truly transformed into an immortal star body, it would eventually face the limit of lifespan.

For a long time, Antonia was the next generation successor to Ceria in Cassius' eyes. He was extremely talented, calm and steady, and at the same time, he had the dignity and bearing that was necessary for a high position. He was almost born to be the best candidate to rule the magic town.

But as time went by, Cassius gradually discovered that compared to his expectations, Antonia lacked the two most important things - a heart that tolerates everything, and the courage to question the strong.

And these qualities, as if destined, gathered together in Rein, Antonia's disciple, across time.

Therefore, under the joint instruction of the three elders, Lain became the current wielder of the famous sword Yueyin at a young age, and at the same time received the highest level of training in Selia. In a sense, Victor and Selina, the disciples of Inovice and Euoris, also felt great pressure from Lain, and coupled with many complex factors such as family background, they gradually became disloyal.

"Teacher..." Anthony suddenly said, "Have I always disappointed you all these years?"

"In terms of rank and inheritance, Lain is my disciple, but you and the second and third seats gave him the same rights and treatment as me. Victor and Selina usually call me senior brother, but they call that kid junior brother. Where do you put me by doing this?"

"In terms of authority and responsibility, you have trusted me to be the Grand Master for the past 26 years. I have always worked very hard and have not dared to make even the smallest mistake. But how have you treated me?"

"The Hall of Mystic Arts is clearly a subordinate organization of the Holy Night Temple, but you never let me get involved, or even ask about it. You let the Black King and the White King who depend on us for survival act independently on this land. Not only do they take all the resources they want, but you even accepted that lowly Son of Platinum into your sect. This is the worst betrayal of the mage tradition!"

"As for this war in front of us, ha, ha ha ha," he said with a hoarse and strange laugh. "You taught me since I was young to regard this war, which will come at an unknown time, as the highest holy war to defend the honor of Selia. Every night I dream of myself charging to the front line of the war, leading countless comrades to defeat those star beasts and protect the land of Gelid from the evil god. But what about you?"

"Compared to me, you trust Lusert, who has nothing to do with us, those immature demigods, and the young dragon that is not tolerated by the Golden Order! You hide in the Tomb of the Buried Gods, leaving all the wars in the outside world to them. Am I, the Grand Master of the Holy Night Temple, only worthy of being a vanguard of the king?!"

clang--

The sound of the swords clashing echoed in the empty tomb. The bright blades reflected Antonia's red and crazy pupils and Cassius's extremely disappointed eyes, but there seemed to be a similar sadness that flashed in the very different eyes of the master and disciple.

"When did it happen?" Cassius said indifferently, "I have thought of many people, but I never thought that you would be controlled by them."

"From the very beginning, teacher." Antonia's body continued to rise and expand, rapidly transforming into a monster similar in appearance to Yug that day.

"You have misunderstood at least one thing—" the monster laughed wildly and sadly, "No one can control me. From the beginning, this was a betrayal that belonged only to me, and it was my own choice!"

(End of this chapter)