Just as the Ancient King was about to continue, Bai Shi hurriedly stopped it. “Hold on, hold on. Wait a minute.” The Ancient King asked Bai Shi quizzically. “What is it? Weren’t you the one who wanted to hear this?” Bai Shi nodded, organizing the story he had just heard in his mind before questioning the Ancient King. “Yes, but I want to ask a few questions first.” “Could you first explain what the Horned People are?” “If I understand that first, I might be able to follow along better. Otherwise, I might not get it at all.” Several of the terms from the story had left Bai Shi feeling very confused. Rather than waiting until the end to ask questions one by one while still confused, it was better to understand these things now to facilitate comprehension later. As for that child of Marika who had popped up out of nowhere—Messmer... Although he was one of the protagonists of the story, he currently sounded like a mere tool, a scapegoat, and was clearly less important than the Horned People. Marika had birthed so many demigods; one more didn’t make a difference. At most, it just made Bai Shi once again lament: Marika truly was the most fertile queen in the Lands Between. The Ancient King thought for a moment and concluded that this was indeed a valid point. “Alright, in that case, I will explain these things to you first to help you understand.” “You want to ask about the Horned People, right?” Bai Shi nodded repeatedly. “Yes, the Horned People. Are they a tribe?” The Ancient King carefully recalled and summarized its knowledge of the Horned People, then began to explain to Bai Shi. “The Horned People are a race that worships horns.” “The Horned People loved to hold all sorts of rituals to worship their gods, revering bloodshed and savagery. They were practically like uncivilized creatures.” “But despite that, they did gain a few things from their blind worship.” “For example... various magnificent structures built out of faith, and special Descending God rituals used to acquire the power of formidable natural beings.” ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵 “Their sphere of influence was vast, and their power was immense. They once occupied most of the central region of the Lands Between.” “But because they were so spread out, and because their race itself was relatively barbaric...” “Their upper and lower classes were like entirely different species. Strife among their own kind was more severe than any other race in the Lands Between, and they would even use their own people for sacrifices in large numbers.” Bai Shi frowned in deep thought. That was a lot of information... Bloody and barbaric, yet they developed an astonishing civilization out of faith, and their power was not weak. Bai Shi wasn’t surprised by the Ancient King’s extreme disdain for the Horned People. There was indeed nothing praiseworthy about a savage race driven by faith; the word “ignorant” was enough to describe them. Besides, beasts were once symbols of civilization and wisdom, and they even served as priests for the ancient dragons. Stormveil was a power developed by the ancient dragons. It was perfectly reasonable for the Ancient King, an immensely powerful stormhawk, to mock the Horned People for their barbarism. The Ancient King continued speaking to Bai Shi. “From their name, it sounds like they are a people where everyone has horns, right?” Bai Shi nodded. That had indeed been his first impression. But the Ancient King refuted this point. “The Horned People worship horns, but not everyone can grow them.” “Those who did grow horns attained a noble status among their people, though it is said that those who grew too many horns would mysteriously disappear... But let’s not get into those rumors, or this will take forever.” “In short, horns were indeed a mark of honor there, with vast differences in status.” “The Horned People treated their lower-class kin no differently than slaves.” “Speaking of horns, you should be quite familiar with them yourself.” Bai Shi raised an eyebrow, immediately making a connection. The Ancient King gave an affirmative reply. “That’s right. Horns are now considered inauspicious and a sign of impurity by the Golden Dynasty, but in the past, they were seen as a blessing of the Crucible.” Bai Shi nodded. Indeed, this could be seen in some texts. For instance, the description of the Crucible series of talismans: This is a vestige of the Crucible of primordial life. An isolated instance of atavism, it was considered divine in ancient times. But as civilization developed, it came to be seen as a sign of impurity. If the Horned People were a barbaric race, then the Golden Dynasty could indeed be considered civilized, and the timeline also made sense. However, Bai Shi suddenly felt that something was slightly off. The power of the Crucible was indeed the power of life, and that should have been true even before the Horned People appeared. But why did the Golden Dynasty suddenly brand Crucible horns as Omen horns? Godfrey still had a whole retinue of Crucible Knights by his side. Could it be that Queen Marika held a deep-seated hatred for the Horned People, and so she deliberately did everything in opposition to them? The more Bai Shi thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. The Horned People had vanished without a trace, as if they had completely disappeared from the current Lands Between. Bai Shi had never come across any information related to them. Consider this: even the Uhl Dynasty, which was from an ancient era relative to the current Lands Between, still had its Clayman Ash-Warlocks. The Eternal Cities also had their Silver Tears and some Nox people as proof of their existence. But the Horned People had left no trace at all. Coupled with the deliberate erasure of their tracks by the Golden Dynasty and the Carian Royal Family... To achieve something of this magnitude was definitely not something one of Marika’s children could have done. “Was this all done at Queen Marika’s behest?” The Ancient King chuckled. “That’s right. You’re quite sharp. That is the truth of the story.” “As for what exactly happened between Queen Marika and the Horned People, I do not know.” “But in the past, Stormveil, the Golden Dynasty, and the Horned People were all hostile towards the Fire Giants, so we once joined forces to vanquish them.” “So, although the army at that time called it a Holy War...” “It was nothing more than a betrayal, a massacre.” “In the end, the existence of the Horned People was completely erased from the Lands Between.” “By comparison, our fate at Stormveil wasn’t so tragic. It was just a normal defeat.” Speaking of which, Bai Shi couldn’t help but ask the Ancient King: “By the way, how did you all end up fighting the Golden Dynasty back then?” For the Ancient King, defeat was not something shameful to talk about. “As I’ve said before, the Erdtree of the past Age of Plenty was all-encompassing.” “After the Fire Giants were eliminated, the Golden Dynasty, the Horned People, the Carian Royal Family, and Stormveil became the four largest powers in the Lands Between.” “But after the war that massacred the Horned People, the Scadutree vanished along with that land. The Erdtree could no longer shed its dewdrops of grace, and the Age of Plenty was no more.” “And since the Carian Royal Family and the Golden Dynasty united through marriage after the war, the only remaining threat to the Erdtree was us, Stormveil.” “That being the case, a fight was only a matter of time.” “You know what happened after that. Although an ancient dragon went to attack the Royal Capital to relieve the siege for us, it failed.” Bai Shi nodded. He finally had a clear timeline for those wars. The Horned People had an early cooperative relationship with Marika. Together with Stormveil, the three major powers fought the Giant War and eliminated the Fire Giants. The Academy of Magic probably did not participate in this war against the Fire Giants. On one hand, the sorcerers’ predecessors—the Stargazers—were on good terms with the giants. On the other hand, it was likely due to their principle of not intervening in wars. But the Golden Dynasty ended up fighting on two fronts because of this, having Radagon lead forces against the Academy of Magic in two wars, which ultimately concluded with Radagon and Rennala’s marriage. After the Giant War ended, the Erdtree thereby became the law. The Age of Plenty arrived, and dewdrops of grace flowed endlessly. But at some point, Queen Marika suddenly struck, sacrificing the hard-won Age of Plenty to drive every last one of the Horned People out of the Lands Between. After that, Messmer shouldered the infamous reputation of the serpent and became an object of scorn for the people of the Lands Between, sealed away by Marika along with that entire region. In the end, the stain of what was called a Holy War but was in fact a horrific massacre was completely hidden. And after experiencing the war with Stormveil and the ancient dragons, the Golden Dynasty finally became the Golden Dynasty that Bai Shi was familiar with. Bai Shi couldn’t quite understand what grudge Queen Marika had against the Horned People. Why were they once able to cooperate, only for her to suddenly slaughter them in the end? But since the Horned People were gone, this would probably remain an unsolved mystery. Bai Shi suddenly remembered the Flame Chariots with the Stormveil hawk crest he had seen outside the Academy of Magic. He took the opportunity to ask the Ancient King about it. “Right, I previously saw some Flame Chariots designed with giant faces, and they had the Stormveil crest on them.” “What is the relationship between those chariots and Stormveil, and why don’t we have anything like that now?” The Ancient King recalled for a moment. “Ah, that thing. It was originally designed as a shield, to warn people of the terror of the Fire Giants.” “Later, it gradually evolved into a vehicle for the battlefield. We at Stormveil are quite adept at making such firearms.” “Things like the flame-spewing devices for defending the city, gunpowder barrels, and such, you’ve seen them all.” “After our defeat, all of those things were taken by the Golden Dynasty, which is why we don’t have them now.” Bai Shi nodded. So that was how it was. Those things were indeed produced by Stormveil. Later they ended up with the Fire Monks, who then traded them to Caelid and the Cuckoos. It seemed he would have to find some time in the future to return them to their rightful owner. But compared to some flame chariots, Bai Shi was now more interested in trying to get his hands on that Scadutree. Although that land was now completely sealed off, there might still be a way to enter. The Erdtree possessed immense energy; its symbiotic Scadutree would surely be no different. The final effect unlocked from the Great Rune he got from Godrick was to grant blessings, but this required a massive amount of runes. If the Scadutree could supply this consumption, Bai Shi could raise an army just as powerful as the Golden Dynasty of the past.