In the Lands Between, the King is merely a pedestal supporting the Elden Ring and the gods; all the King's power originates from the gods.
Even a powerful figure like the first Elden Lord, Godfrey, was stripped of his grace and power by Marika, transformed into a Tarnished, and exiled from the Lands Between, while she elevated her own other half to become the second King Consort.
From this, it's clear that the King is essentially a puppet of the gods and the Golden Order, devoid of any freedom and not truly important, merely a replaceable tool.
This conjecture startled Xiao, as he realized the complexity of the power struggles in the Lands Between might far exceed his imagination.
A single Night of the Black Knives alone likely concealed the struggle of multiple factions, meaning the political maneuvering here was far from simple.
However, now was not the time to delve deeply into these issues, as the Lands Between currently did not meet the conditions for becoming a god.
The Shattering War had just begun, and the demigods of the Lands Between were all at their peak, each possessing extraordinary strength; confronting them head-on now would be too costly.
Although the demigods seemed not very strong in the game, this was merely a reduction made for game balance and playability.
In reality, if one carefully observed some details in the game's lore, one could truly feel the immense power of the demigods.
After all, even Starscourge General Radahn, despite being corrupted by the Scarlet Rot and losing his sanity, degenerating into a beast gnawing on corpses,
still possessed the terrifying power to instinctively hold the entire starry sky of the Lands Between in place and seal off the path for all Empyreans to become gods.
How much stronger, then, must Malenia, the Goddess of Scarlet Rot, who defeated Radahn, be?
Furthermore, there was Morgott, who single-handedly defended the isolated city, resisted countless demigod rebels, and repelled numerous demigods multiple times;
and Miquella, who was isolated overseas and created the Consecrated Snowfield and the Haligtree—all were awe-inspiringly powerful existences.
This power is by no means as simple as depicted in the game, nor can it be easily overcome by simply rolling and using light attacks.
Moreover, Ranni indeed became a true god in the Age of Stars ending, which means she must possess the method for becoming a god.
This method might come from the Two Fingers, the emissaries of the Supreme Will, or originate from Queen Marika.
Therefore, Xiao decided to adopt the strategy of "building high walls, accumulating abundant provisions, and delaying claiming kingship!"
He would wait until the demigods' Shattering War ended and both sides suffered heavy losses before pursuing the goal of becoming a god.
And he would secretly establish contact with the Two Fingers.
If he could obtain the method for becoming a god, that would be best; if not, it didn't matter, he could exchange information with Ranni then.
If all else failed, he could directly inquire with the Elden Beast; although it had sealed itself within the Erdtree together with Marika, it could still transmit messages by manipulating leaves.
Xiao quietly felt the three Great Runes interacting within his body, ultimately forming a circular symbol somewhat resembling the central mark of the Elden Ring, representing the power of the Supreme Will.
Surging power continuously flowed from the three Great Runes.
Believers from several worlds were constantly practicing Xiao's three great laws, providing him with an endless supply of power.
Moreover, Xiao discovered that the Great Runes he controlled and the Great Runes controlled by the Tarnished were completely different concepts!
For the Tarnished, a Great Rune was more like a powerful piece of equipment, requiring the support of Rune Arcs transformed from the Erdtree's branches to unleash its power.
But for Xiao, the Great Runes were the crystallization of his own power; he could unleash their power whenever he wished.
However, the existence of three Great Runes was truly astonishing; if other demigods learned of it, they would undoubtedly launch a siege against him.
Therefore, Xiao decisively chose to quietly conceal the three Great Runes formed from the condensation of his laws within his own body.
At the same time, he also transferred half of the Great Rune of Death into Wu Meiniang's body and prepared to move around using only Wu Meiniang's body, creating the illusion that he possessed only half a Great Rune.
To make this illusion more convincing, Xiao even unhesitatingly released his own aura, announcing his return to all of the Lands Between.
"Wuwuwu…"
When Xiao fully activated the power of the death rune within him, countless Those Who Live in Death let out mournful wails, as if celebrating the birth of the Law of Death.
The power of death had finally welcomed its true master; as long as the Law of Death reintegrated into the embrace of the Golden Order, they would no longer have to endure the torment of eternal life and would finally find eternal liberation in death.
However, Xiao discovered a problem: "Why is there only one-fourth? Where are the rest of the laws?"
At this moment, one of his eyes had transformed into a bright Dusk-Eyed under the influence of divinity.
One of Xiao's eyes, under the influence of the death rune, changed from its original dark gold to a bright Dusk-Eye, shimmering with splendid and dangerous light.
Xiao's question caused Ranni's heart to tighten, and she quickly explained: "I only obtained this much Destined Death. Half of it was used to kill Godwyn the Golden's soul, and the other half entered my body, killing my physical form."
"Since the Law of Death was branded onto me as a Rune, then the other half of the brand should clearly remain on Godwyn's physical body. As for the remaining Destined Death, it's all in the hands of Queen Marika's shadow beast—Maliketh."
It wasn't that Ranni was scared, but being gazed upon by Xiao's Dusk-Eye, even though Ranni was only a soul and a demigod granted eternal immortality by the Golden Order, she still felt an instinctive tremor.
There was nothing she could do; that was the embodiment of death, the law of Destined Death, only one step away from becoming a god. Ranni knew its power all too well.
After all, she had just used this very thing to slay Godwyn the Golden's soul, making him the first of Those Who Live in Death.
However, merely by using it, Ranni still suffered a backlash from Destined Death,
which caused her physical body to completely die, leaving only her soul residing within amber, forcing her to move around using a doll's body from then on.
It can be said that the law of Destined Death is the ultimate destination for all living beings.
It can not only kill demigods but also destroy the fundamental principles of the Golden Order.
Even the demigods favored by the Elden Ring can be easily killed by it.
If the Queen of the Dusk-Eyed truly became a god, it is likely that all other gods would die under the power of Destined Death.
Perhaps this was one of the reasons why the Queen of the Dusk-Eyed failed in her struggle with Marika and ultimately could not become a god.
The Supreme Will probably did not want to see such a dangerous existence ascend to godhood.
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