However, with their forces exhausted and everyone wounded, taking down the Valkyrie quickly would not be easy. Moreover, Frieren had to consider the possibility of the Outer God of Rot intervening. It would not be worth it to let Scarlet Rot blossom before the seventy thousand-strong Army of the Lord of Cinder.
"Your Majesty, you need to rest."
"Ranni, you're right. Let's stop here for now…"
The little doll on her shoulder had nearly burst into tears upon seeing this sorry state.
It was true; this was the first time Frieren had fully used the Soul of Cinder Incarnation, and in the Lands Between, no less, where there were too many variables. She wasn't sure what would happen after dispelling it. In the worst-case scenario, she could be directly ejected because the world's rules would not tolerate it.
But her body was at its absolute limit. She had no choice but to dispel it; the accumulated stamina of her Astrologer account was at its breaking point.
The silver-haired girl took a deep breath, gradually adjusted the flow of her magic power, and actively reined it in.
Suppress the output of the First Flame? She couldn't. Every time she did this, she would slightly unseal the power of the Moon God, letting the power of a host of ancient gods press down to offset it—a simple, crude, and dangerous method.
Therefore, she would never attempt it unless absolutely necessary.
Fortunately, everything was going smoothly for now. As Frieren mobilized the power of the Great Rune to gradually regulate herself, she finally regained her balance.
Almost there.
When her breathing had stabilized, she looked around. Everyone else was also tense; after all, Her Majesty's ferocious appearance just now did not seem like someone who would let things go. Luckily, she hadn't lost control, or no one could have stopped her.
At the same time, Messmer brought Melina to the exit. On the other side, Ansbach and Thiollier had also arrived.
Gazing into the distance, they heard a single horn blast.
The Haligtree army sounded the signal for a general retreat, while commanders like Edgar quickly rode up and asked in a loud voice:
"Your Majesty, shall we pursue the enemy?"
"No need. Let them go. Our strategic objective has been achieved."
Before she had finished speaking, Frieren's vision went black, and her head spun.
A gentle force supported her from the side. It was Ranni, who had now possessed the larger puppet. She asked with concern, "How are you? Are you alright? Will there be any after-effects?"
"It's just that this body is very tired. I'll be fine after some rest… That's not important."
The silver-haired girl glanced around and announced loudly:
"We won."
In an instant, a thunderous roar like a mountain collapsing into a tsunami responded, "Victory to Her Majesty!" The shouts of a full seventy thousand people shook the universe with immense power.
They had once thought they would meet their honorable end here, but they never expected Frieren to turn the tide and win the most decisive battle. And that wasn't all; Her Majesty had fought the entire match, from breaching the city to defeating the King of Promise, without a moment's rest.
"It's finally over. It's our Majesty's victory."
"The God-King was defeated. I see the Gate of a God's ritual is nothing special. The Hornsent's things are unreliable."
"Exactly. Lady Frieren and Princess Ranni are the King and God of this era."
"What's a mere golden capital to stand in our way?"
Everyone's excitement was palpable. Many waved their banners and banged their weapons, shouting and cheering in celebration.
This war had too much meaning; it had become an epic.
A beautiful victory.
Having effectively annihilated the Hornsent army and repelled the Haligtree army, their own forces were relatively well-preserved, leaving behind many elites tempered on a peak battlefield. In particular, the Army of the Lord of Cinder proved that even though most of them hailed from the south, they were second to none. In this clash of elite armies, they had truly won, which was enough to boost the morale of any military force.
From now on, the Army of the Lord of Cinder was also a top-tier armed force in the Lands Between.
"I'm tired. We'll deal with the aftermath and spoils of war later. For now, everyone rest where you are."
"As you command."
Frieren sat down, a rare occasion for her to pant heavily. This ordeal had been too exhausting. It was the first time she had overdrawn so much magic power, leaving her feeling weak all over.
After hearing her command, Messmer and Rellana went to organize their respective armies. With their meticulous personalities, they would maintain vigilance even while resting.
The Undead Legion of Farron and Florisaxx preferred quiet, so they went to the edge of the battlefield. As for the Mimic Tear, it returned to the Spirit Calling Bell; the child was tired too.
"Are you okay? That was really too dangerous just now."
Melina came jogging over, only letting out a sigh of relief when she saw the silver-haired girl's color improving.
"I'm fine. I just need to rest a bit more. But I'll need to enter a slumber for a while to adjust. Melina, Ranni, I'll have to leave things to you then."
The two nodded.
"Now you two will probably be called a true God and King, won't you?"
The Lands Between ultimately emphasizes strength over things like ritual and legitimacy. In the eyes of the world, conquering it is more meaningful than passing through the Gate of a God.
Since the Empyrean of the Stars and the Soul Cinder King won, it means their gold content is superior. They are destined to rule the Lands Between and implement a new law; their will shall be interpreted by strength.
"I suppose so."
Frieren and Ranni answered in unison, then looked at each other and smiled.
To be honest, their level of trust before was not high enough. There was an element of a political marriage between the Carian Royal Family and the strongest quasi-king. Although the vow after the battle with Astel was sincere, a relationship must be maintained over the long term. Today, they had just passed their own "Gate of a God" trial.
They were absolutely worthy of each other's trust.
Melina was happy to see this. After all, no matter how close she was, she was ultimately not part of the God-King system. The Lands Between relied on them for salvation.
At this moment, two blood-soaked figures slowly approached.
"We're not disturbing you, are we?" Ansbach asked with a wave.
"It's fine… Are you here to say farewell?" Frieren hit the nail on the head.
"Yes. Lord Mohg has been freed, and I have no reason to remain under your command. Your Majesty, please allow me to take my leave."
"You may. What are your plans now?"
"I wish to continue organizing the texts regarding the Hornsent. I'm used to traveling from my early years and have been to many places as a Blood Knight, so I plan to live in seclusion and meditate for a time. I will await your new era, Your Majesty."
"But don't go too deep into seclusion, or your old friend won't know I've ascended the throne."
"It's alright. When that time comes, the fallen leaves will bring the message."
The two looked at each other and smiled.
Finally, Ansbach spoke his last words of parting with a serious tone: "Lady Frieren, become the King—not for the gods, but a King who exists for the people."
After speaking, he turned and left without any lingering attachment.
"And you? Thiollier."
"I will first return to Lady Trina's side to tell her what has happened, and then decide."
"I will also pay a visit later. We'll see each other then."
Thiollier shook his head: "No, I will leave after I deliver the message. Let you and Lady Trina decide. I must continue to travel and train myself, or I will be of no help to her."
"Then farewell. If you ever need anything, you can come find me at any time."
"Your Majesty, may you become the Elden Lord."
The last follower departed, and with that, the Land of Shadow squad tied to Miquella's plan was officially disbanded.
A moment later.
Under the healing of Melina and Ranni, Frieren recovered some of her strength.
It was the first time she had been so tired she couldn't even use sunlight therapy. Fortunately, the most dangerous state had passed. Now, she wouldn't have to worry even if the Valkyrie launched a surprise counterattack.
It was time to check the spoils of war. They had dropped when she defeated the King of Promise, she just hadn't had time to look:
[Crown of Light]
[The Crown of Light worn by Miquella upon his return as a god. The crown is already on the verge of disappearing]
[Slightly raises Intelligence, Faith, and Arcane, and also enhances the power of "Miquella's Light." This is the era of Miquella that was not to be]
[The nascent ring born under that gentle law]
A hint of regret flowed through the description.
It was beautiful, but she already had the crown crafted by the artisan of Stormveil Castle. Such a symbolic item should not be replaced casually. Besides, in the eyes of the people of the Lands Between, it was uncertain whose crown was superior.
Perhaps the accessories Frieren dropped would have similarly cryptic descriptions.
What she was truly focused on was the Remembrance exchange of the God and King. After a quick teleport and with the help of a mod, there were three items in total, a guaranteed bounty.
[Miquella's Light]
As a sorcerer, she was naturally most interested in what might be the strongest incantation to date:
[The power possessed by Miquella upon his return as a god. Can be performed as an incantation. Can annihilate enemies with a pillar of light]
[Miquella embraces all living things, and wishes to hold all creation]
[However, he understood that one existence would be an exception]
[Whether it is a god possessing absolute power, or their King]
[Only one of each can exist]
His realization was correct. The contest for God-King alone allows no compromise; one side's system must be utterly destroyed. Now, Miquella was a god without a king, and that was that. Lacking the king's violence, it would not work.
Frieren knew well the power of this incantation, having experienced it harshly. Its power was astounding, and it could even spread and propagate light rays after the initial attack, which was quite terrifying.
A great gain.
She had taken a liking to Miquella's Light anyway. In her hands, she could combine it with soul damage to exert even greater power.
More importantly was its super-large-scale destructive power, which would be exceptionally effective on the battlefield.
Besides spells like Sunlight Spear, Meteorite of Astel, and the Witch of Izalith's Chaos Fire, she now had Miquella's Light. One can never have too many tricks. For someone who loved collecting magic, it was a treasure, to say nothing of it being the powerful Holy-attribute damage Frieren lacked.
She now had top-tier, super-large-scale destructive moves for lightning and spacetime, gravity, fire, and holy light.
The remaining Remembrance exchanges came as a pair.
[Radahn's Greatsword (King) and (Light)]
[A paired weapon of black iron greatswords wielded by Radahn in his youth, adorned with a lion's mane design]
[The weapon held by Radahn the moment before he shattered the stars]
[A king's sword that relies not only on strength and gravity]
As always, the heavy design was something Frieren couldn't use; it didn't fit her body type or her style. It was the same logic as the Starscourge Greatsword—unless it was for a specific suitable situation, it was basically useless.
However, the weapon skills were commendable, and they also answered the question of what those moves in the battle actually were.
[Unique Skill - King of Promise]
[Wreathes both greatswords in Miquella's Light to perform a continuous slash accompanied by pillars of light. Activate again to perform up to two follow-up attacks]
[Unique Skill - Lightspeed Slash]
[A skill where one becomes light, leaping up and slashing down at the speed of light. After the attack, it forms a continuous follow-up of light. Charging the skill enhances its power and increases the number of follow-up attacks]
Recalling the battle just now, it indeed matched up; they were all霸道 (domineering) moves.
Frieren found it troublesome just thinking about it. Fortunately, it was hers now; the skills could be integrated into her usual fighting style.
Truly worthy of a God and King's Remembrance; the rewards were very generous.
She tested them one by one. The harder something was to obtain, the more carefully it should be kept. Future powerful enemies would likely not be on the level of the King of Promise. It was an exhilarating, yet equally perilous battle.
"Ranni, you can keep Radahn's weapons too."
"There's no need. My brother has left many mementos for me to remember him by. The memento of his weapon alone should be given to his greatest opponent."
"Then I'll accept them."
Everyone felt a little more at ease seeing Frieren start to practice the Lightspeed Slash repeatedly.
Her Majesty recovers so quickly. As expected of her.
A portion of the soldiers carefully searched the ruins, picking up any equipment they could find. After all, they didn't need to ask to know that Frieren would want to collect everything later. In addition, there were some Hornsent on the verge of death; naturally, they were given a quick end.
The Spiral Tower, as the very center of Hornsent civilization, was declared destroyed, with only ancient texts left to find traces of their sins.
In addition, Melina brought the Remembrance of the Mother of Fingers.
Frieren was extremely interested in this one's rewards, not only because the other party was also a mage, but because research into the Mother of Fingers would, to some extent, answer questions about the history of the Lands Between:
[Remembrance of Metyr, Mother of Fingers, carved by the Scadutree]
[With the help of an interpretation, one can obtain the power of the Remembrance's owner]
[If used directly, one can obtain a huge amount of Runes]
[The star-eyed daughter of the Greater Will, she is the mother of all Two Fingers and Fingercreepers, and also the initial meteor that fell to the Lands Between]
She had some standing.
A pity she chose the wrong side. In that case, it didn't matter if she was a hound of the Greater Will or not; she couldn't escape death.
Moreover, Frieren, who possessed an even higher standing, had long sensed it. The so-called Greater Will cannot be measured by 'will'; it is an objective phenomenon. To try and fathom its thoughts is arrogance itself.
A typical example of thinking too much and making a mistake was the Mother of Fingers.
She was more concerned with the Remembrance's exchange, hoping it would be an item worthy of the enemy's strength.
[Staff of the Supreme Beyond]
It sounded very stylish, felt good in the hand, and the stat scaling seemed a bit poor, but that wasn't what Frieren cared about. As long as the staff's quality was high enough to resonate with her magic power without holding her back, it was fine.
[An item using the tail-finger of Metyr, Mother of Fingers, and the small cosmos held aloft by the finger as a staff]
[A catalyst for casting sorceries and performing incantations]
[The Mother of Fingers can receive messages from the Greater Will—]
[Even after being abandoned due to being broken, she still waits for a message to arrive]
Very special.
It didn't require an incantation seal; it was a special catalyst for both magic and incantations, one of a kind. With Frieren's current knowledge, she dared say there was no other substitute in the Lands Between.
Except for the flaw of its damage scaling being too low.
She tried the feel of the Staff of the Supreme Beyond; it was about the same as the Lusat's Glintstone Staff she currently used.
However, player-related evaluations were rather low, with most considering it a toy. After all, the low stat bonus was too fatal. Only someone like herself, who didn't really need weapon stats, could adapt to it.
One could only say it was convenient, but far from powerful.
____
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