"Lord Messmer, a unit has appeared ahead, blocking our path!"
"Hmm? Who is leading them?"
Messmer's brow twitched at the report. He slowly lifted his head, revealing those piercing golden eyes.
"It... it is the Twin Moon Knight, Rellana!"
"What?!"
Messmer was visibly startled by the mention of Rellana. He couldn't fathom why she would choose to appear at this specific time and place.
"Come. Let us see what they truly intend."
Messmer narrowed his eyes. Flicking the hem of his robe, he wrenched his long spear from the ground and strode toward the front of the army with a predatory, majestic grace.
At the front, Rellana stood in a silent standoff with the other powerhouses of the Golden Order's vanguard. Among them were several Hero-class figures: the "Dragon-piercer," "Thunder-cleaver," "Crag-mountain," and others.
Among this assembly, Mohg spotted a familiar face: Makar "The Stalker."
"Princess Rellana, why exactly did I have to come along for this specific mission?" Mohg asked in a low voice, his lip twitching slightly.
"Since you were able to defeat Rock, you have proven you can hold your own," Rellana replied calmly without looking back. "You won't be useless here. When the time comes, you will strike alongside us."
"Understood..."
Mohg nodded and continued to scan the enemy ranks with the rest of the Carian unit. He noticed a Draconic Tree Sentinel—a massive, imposing figure that stood apart. No one dared to linger too close to him; the surrounding soldiers seemed to regard the sentinel with a mixture of profound fear and visible ostracization.
As Mohg studied the vast Golden Order host, the front ranks of the soldiers slowly parted. A pale-faced man wearing a red mantle stepped forward.
Even before he arrived, a scorching heat and a dense, suffocating killing intent radiated from him—a blatant display of dominance meant to intimidate the Carian forces.
Rellana's expression darkened. Her magical aura erupted in an instant, surging forward to meet and repel Messmer's oppressive presence. At the moment of their collision, a sharp hum vibrated through the air, though it dissipated as quickly as it had arrived.
"Princess of Caria, Rellana of the Twin Moons," Messmer said, getting straight to the point. "You lead an army to block our path, yet you do not attack... What is your purpose?"
Both commanders reined in their auras. Rellana stared back with cold indifference.
"I am here to deliver a challenge."
"A challenge? You wish to duel me?" Messmer asked, looking somewhat surprised.
"Exactly."
"And why should I accept? Even if I were to defeat you, I doubt there would be any immediate benefit."
"Is that truly what you believe?"
Messmer fell silent at her question, his head dipping slightly as he weighed the situation.
Indeed, if he could defeat the Twin Moon Knight here, it would be a catastrophic blow to Carian morale. If the opportunity arose, he might even capture her to use as leverage for greater concessions—though he knew that would be difficult.
Of course, accepting the duel carried significant risks, even if he chose the location. After all, this was Carian territory; their familiarity with the lake district far exceeded the Golden Order's calculations.
"Very well. But the time and place will be of my choosing."
"No need. Let it be now. Neither of us is in poor condition, unless... you are afraid?"
Messmer couldn't help but let out a contemptuous smirk. "A low-level provocation. But I must admit, it is quite effective on me."
"Then follow me."
With that, Rellana patted her warhorse and leaped into the air. With a light tap of her foot against the empty space, a pale blue ripple manifested beneath her boots. She shot off toward the distance like a streak of starlight.
Messmer was not slow to react. He pushed off the ground with explosive force, wreathed in surging flames, and soared into the sky to pursue her.
As he chased her, he noticed something unusual. Rellana was moving exceptionally fast—deliberately so, as if trying to force a gap between them and the main armies. Her intent was blindingly obvious: she was leading him to a specific location. Otherwise, there would be no reason to expend so much energy on speed before a duel began. It was a tactically unwise move—unless the destination was the point of the exercise.
Meanwhile, back at the front lines, Mohg and his companions exchanged a glance. At a silent signal, they began to lead the Carian units in a slow, calculated retreat.
This maneuver put the Golden Order's remaining officers in a difficult position. Messmer was gone. If they attacked now to pin these people down, what if the Full Moon Queen herself was lying in wait? If they did nothing, who knew if these people would double back to interfere with Messmer's duel?
As for continuing the march to apply pressure... in this terrain, if they walked into an ambush without their primary powerhouse, they would be in serious trouble.
"Tch... that Messmer..."
Gualres, a trusted confidant of Radagon and the vice-general assigned to assist Messmer, frowned and grumbled. Radagon knew Messmer's brilliance as a commander, but he also knew his glaring flaws, which was exactly why Gualres had been sent along.
Unfortunately, Messmer had moved too fast and accepted the challenge too readily. Gualres hadn't even had a chance to voice a protest.
Furthermore, the core of this elite force was Messmer's personal army, the Black Knights. Gualres was finding it difficult to get information quickly from them; they clearly did not respect him. The primary reason was simple: he lacked the individual strength to suppress them.
It was an unavoidable problem. Andreas, the Commander of the Black Knights, was only a hair's breadth away from a Crucible Knight in terms of physical constitution. The only real gap between the two was their equipment. How was Gualres supposed to argue with that?
Gualres was a standard Hero-class combatant with a talent for command, but he wasn't foolish enough to pick a fight with a knight of that caliber.
Fortunately, Andreas was cautious and capable, so they had managed to maintain a working relationship. But now, the inherent risks of Messmer's personality had detonated, and Caria had caught them with their guard down.
"Commander Andreas, I suspect Caria harbors ill intent. Whether it concerns General Messmer or the forests and plains ahead, the danger is significant. I request that you send an elite squad to scout the path ahead."
Andreas hesitated for a moment before nodding. Gualres's logic was sound.
"Hsiu, take a squad and scout ahead. Remember, do not overextend."
"Yes, Commander!"
A Black Knight wielding a twinblade stepped forward, took the order, and signaled a few of his comrades to follow him. Despite being Andreas's son, he maintained the strict discipline of the battalion.
BOOM!
Following a massive impact, two figures—one blue, one red—landed in a large, open clearing deep within the forest.
Messmer surveyed the surroundings. "Leading me here... I imagine it wasn't just for a simple duel, was it?"
Rellana remained silent. She slowly drew the two light greatswords from her waist.
Messmer tightened his grip on his spear. He knew this was a gamble, but he had always been a man who embraced the risk.
The moment their eyes met, Messmer moved. His spear was instantly wreathed in a deep, crimson-red flame. Rellana recognized it immediately; this fire was distinct from any ordinary blaze. As a member of the Carian royalty, the union of moon and fire was not a concept of the future, but a legacy of the ancient past. The Sword of Night and Flame was the ultimate testament to that history.
CLANG!
The sharp ring of steel echoed as Rellana crossed her blades to parry Messmer's thrust. A blinding blue radiance erupted from her form.
The resulting shockwave forced Messmer to manifest a flaming barrier with one hand to brace himself. Simultaneously, he drove his spear into the earth. Countless spears of black fire erupted from the ground, racing toward Rellana.
Whoosh—!
Two gargantuan magical greatswords manifested in the air, sweeping down to shatter the rising spears of flame. Rellana tapped the ground lightly, gliding toward Messmer with a weightless, elegant lethality.
She moved like water, her twin blades wreathed in azure light as she closed in for a relentless flurry of strikes.
Messmer found his movements restricted by the sudden close-quarters combat. The proximity made it difficult to utilize the reach of his spear effectively. He quickly shifted his tactics, erupting in a burst of flame to force Rellana back. He choked up on the grip of his spear and summoned a ball of vivid, blood-red flame in his free right hand.
Rellana sharpened her guard but did not retreat. She lunged forward once more.
She was met by a flurry of spear thrusts. The tip of Messmer's weapon exploded into a thousand sparks of fire, becoming a blur of crimson afterimages that rained down upon her.
Mohg, having arrived at the perimeter, was pulled into position by Kayi, who was already lying in wait. He watched the duel unfold.
Rellana's twin swords moved like streaks of blue light, clashing incessantly with the red spear. Sparks and azure starlight sprayed across the clearing, making the battle look almost ethereal. But every observer knew the lethal intent hidden behind that beauty.
"When do we strike?" Mohg whispered.
"Wait."
"Wait?" Mohg blinked, turning his gaze back to the fight. "...I see."
The duel between Rellana and Messmer had devolved into a high-precision, close-range struggle of technique. Such combat was incredibly taxing on mental focus. They were waiting for a moment of exhaustion or a decisive shift. It didn't matter if Messmer gained the upper hand or Rellana faltered; in that split second of climax, a vulnerability would inevitably appear.
As time ticked by, the battle reached a fever pitch. Eruptions of fire and brilliant magical flashes consumed the surrounding greenery. Fire scorched the earth, and magical blade-waves sundered ancient trees. The ground was left pitted with craters from magic and flame.
Suddenly, a massive explosion echoed from deeper within the forest.
Messmer's rhythm faltered for a fraction of a second. Rellana's eyes lit up. She soared into the air, and before Messmer could adjust, a massive full moon manifested behind her.
"ARGH!"
Sensing the overwhelming power gathering within that moon, Messmer lunged. He threw his spear with everything he had, the weapon becoming a flaming meteor aimed straight at Rellana.
This was the moment. Kayi and the hidden Carian elites surged from the shadows.
Moonlight Slash, Carian Grandeur, Night Comet—a barrage of high-level sorceries and skills converged on Messmer in a heartbeat.
From the distant sky, a blinding blue streak whistled through the air. It was a Loretta's Mastery magical great-arrow!
Mohg, not wanting to be left out, unleashed his most powerful magical assault.
Meteor Strike!
Righeys' spear was fully awakened, glowing a vibrant blue. Streams of azure light flowed along the edges of the blade. With a powerful thrust, Mohg transformed into a blue lance of energy, hurtling toward Messmer's position.
BOOM!
The combined impact of the attacks detonated. A horrific roar shook the forest, and a blinding white light swallowed the clearing. When the radiance faded, the scene was revealed.
Rellana had used her twin moons to offset the impact of Messmer's spear throw; she was relatively unharmed, save for a few minor scrapes.
Messmer, however, was in a much worse state. His armor and mantle were shredded. His helmet had been blown away, and blood trickled down his left cheek from a gash on his head. His wild red hair was a matted mess, and several deep wounds marked his body.
The most conspicuous injury was the one left by Mohg—a clean puncture wound that had transfixed Messmer's abdomen.
"Cough... it seems... I was too careless..."
A gout of flame manifested in Messmer's hand, and his spear returned to his grip. He used the weapon as a crutch to slowly pull himself to his feet, facing the circle of enemies.
"I must admit, I underestimated you. I thought you were merely a knight who couldn't see past her own code. I didn't realize you were a true, cold-blooded ruler of Caria."
"You have no hope of turning this around," Rellana said, her voice devoid of emotion as she stepped forward. "Surrender."
"No hope? I think you've misunderstood something."
"What?" Rellana asked instinctively, her brow furrowing.
"I am not the leader of this expedition. If I saw through your trap and yet chose to come anyway... was it truly because of mere confidence?"
"What are you... NO!"
Rellana's pupils dilated. She let out a sharp cry, and a wave of pale blue energy erupted from her, forcefully pushing her companions away.
In the next heartbeat, a blinding golden light descended from the heavens. A massive shockwave blasted everyone except Rellana and Messmer backward.
Mohg was sent flying, crashing hard against an ancient tree.
As he looked up, his pupils shook in terror. He saw the figure standing within the fading golden light.
It was the true architect of the crusade, the other half of Queen Marika the Eternal, the enforcer of the Golden Order: Radagon of the Red Hair!
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Elden Ring: As the Consort, I Reject Miquella (Full)
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