Elden Ring: Atai vows to have a perfect ending

"Zero, will you be my knight?"

Kenneth Hyde suddenly asked me this question while we were walking through the fog forest towards Hyde Fortress.

The game's side story was triggered so suddenly that I was slightly stunned: "Huh?"

"During my wanderings, I thought carefully that a man like Greg is indeed unworthy of becoming a king and the ruler of Nimgfu." Kenneth suddenly became indignant. "The knights under his command are so dull, and he himself is notorious."

——Oh, it’s time to tell about Xiao Ge’s glorious deeds.

“... In the battle to defend the royal city of Rodel, after being defeated, he escaped among a group of women. Afraid of Latan, he hid in the city and dared not say a word. He underestimated Marennia and ended up losing miserably, but he even knelt down and kissed her feet to show his obedience... He is such a weak and shameless man.” Speaking of the "limb-joining" Greg, Kenneth was really eloquent and indignant. “Even though he was born into a famous golden family, it can be seen that Gefulei’s bloodline has faded a lot... And now, I heard that the guy is performing an evil limb-joining ceremony in Stonewell. You Faded Ones know this better than me!”

I remembered that I ran into a noble who had had his limbs grafted when I walked out of the Princely Chapel, and I nodded involuntarily: "Well, thanks to him, I have indeed suffered a lot."

"Nimgufu is in such a mess now. It's no exaggeration to say that guy is the culprit!" Kenneth sighed. "If you think about it carefully, it's really sad that the offspring of that queen, that noble warrior, have fallen to such a state."

"······I understand your resentment towards Xiao Ge."

"Xiao Ge? Oh, you mean Greg, right? Well said! Greg, a little man, named Xiao Ge!"

Uh, Xiao Ge, you are really hated deeply by others.

I continued my topic: "But what does this have to do with me being your knight?"

"Of course! Nimgefu must not be completely controlled by Xiao Ge and his ilk." Kenneth said firmly, "Although I was forced to leave the fortress, I also saw a lot of things... Those are things I could never learn if I stayed in the fortress. So, I want to travel around Nimgefu like you Faded Ones, to find more possibilities in this land!"

However, as he was talking, Kenneth said with a bit of loneliness: "It's a pity that I'm not good at fighting, so I need help... You can defeat that blood-crazy Knight Commander, your skills are outstanding... Besides, becoming my knight will naturally bring many benefits."

"Oh?"

"Work under me and learn what is the proper order under the golden tree. Maybe one day, the blessing will return to your faded eyes." Perhaps Kenneth himself felt that this was a bit empty, and added, "Besides, besides, I am the eldest son of Lord Nimgefu after all, and Greg wouldn't dare to do anything to me. As long as you are mine, I'm sure he won't dare to touch you at all."

This benefit is good, but I don’t know what the actual effect is.

But since the other party had said so, I didn't want to embarrass Kenneth Hyde, so I agreed: "Okay, I'm also trying to find a way to go to Stoneville."

"Huh? What are we going to Stonewell for?" Kenneth said in confusion. "Once we get back to the fortress, there's still a lot of work waiting for us! First, we must restart communication with the demihumans, and secondly..."

As Kenneth chattered on, we continued forward along the mountain shore where the fog forest met the sea.

By the time we passed through the foggy forest and saw Hyde Fortress, half a day had passed.

After all, it's not easy for Torrett to carry two adult men all the way, and it would be weird for me to ride the spirit horse alone.

However, although the march was slow, they did not encounter any enemies, and even ran into a wandering merchant near Hyde Fortress.

During the break, Kenneth had a very pleasant conversation with the businessman and even invited him to work under him.

······It seems that this guy’s fortress is indeed short of manpower.

Once again returning to Hyde Fortress, the soldiers guarding the crossbow on the outer wall are gone, and the soldiers who were originally guarding the passage are also gone. Fortunately, the Rune Bear is not here either, if it was still there, it would be troublesome.

Everything was so quiet, as if the entire fortress had become an empty shell.

I took Kenneth into the fortress.

“This, this is…” Upon seeing the remains of the demi-human queen, Kenneth couldn’t help but widen his eyes and tremble all over, “That guy actually committed such a serious crime! No wonder…”

"careful!"

"Gah-"

Suddenly, a sharp roar was heard from the fortress, and several demihumans rushed out from all directions.

I quickly threw out a fire pot, forcing these demi-humans to stop, and at the same time drew out my straight sword to protect Kenneth.

"Quack! Quack!"

These little Asians lacked the means of long-range attack, so I blocked the fortress entrance with Kenneth. Even if they rushed over, they could only fight me one by one, thus avoiding being surrounded and beaten.

As for one-on-one fights, many of the leaderless demi-humans are no match for me.

"······Zero, let me do it." Kenneth suddenly grabbed the wrist holding the sword.

I reminded him, "Kenneth, are you confident that you can communicate with the current subhumans?"

"I'm afraid this is no longer something that can be solved by simple communication." He sighed, the veins on the back of his hand bulged and trembled slightly, as if with a sense of determination.

I couldn't stop him, so I put away my sword.

"No matter what happens, don't do anything... Even if they kill me, just leave as soon as possible, Zero." Kenneth walked forward resolutely.

Perhaps, these demihumans recognized him and did not attack him immediately.

Everyone's eyes were focused on Kenneth Hyde. He walked quietly to the body of the sub-human queen, then knelt down on his knees reverently and bowed his head.

"Gah!"

One of the demihumans suddenly roared.

The other demihumans also picked up stones from the ground and threw them at Kenneth Hyde.

The stones hit my body, and the dull sound was continuous like raindrops.

Soon, a slight smell of blood and rust flowed into the air.

But Kenneth Hyde didn't say a word, nor did he resist at all. He just said softly: "I'm sorry, Demi-Queen. It's my fault that I didn't discipline you well, and the disaster has befallen you."

I couldn't bear to watch it any longer. I estimated that it had been two or three minutes, and the Asians hadn't stopped smashing the stones for even a second.

After all, it was that Blood Knight who did it. You demihumans can't beat that guy, but you really want to beat Kenneth to death?

I was about to draw my sword and move forward, but I felt someone gently pulling my hand.

I turned around and didn't see anyone.

— Is it Melina? Why are you stopping me?

"Ga!" At this time, a demi-human shouted again, and the other demi-humans stopped their stone attacks, and they were all so tired that they were panting.

Then, Kenneth actually forced himself to stand up shakily, not caring about the blood overflowing from his mouth, and shouted: "I, I am Kenneth Hyde, the supreme lord of Hyde Fortress. Yes, I am sincerely sad about what happened to the queen... My demi-human friends, now the sinner who stained his blood and defiled the queen has been defeated by my faded friends. The most urgent task is to bury your queen and let her return to the tree in peace!"

"Quack! Quack!"

"quack!"

The demihumans seemed to understand Kenneth's words, and they all scattered without paying any attention to me.

Kenneth, who was forgiven, finally relaxed and fell backwards with his shaking body.

"Kenneth!" I hurried forward and held him up.

"Cough cough cough, Zero, thank you very much." Kenneth smiled bitterly, and blood foam couldn't stop flowing out.

I quickly took out the Dew Drop Holy Grail Bottle and said, "Don't talk yet. This medicine can at least heal the wound."

"Thank you." Kenneth drank the entire Holy Grail bottle, and the color returned to his face.

hiss······

Now it seems that Kenneth did not have any injuries on his head. The stones thrown by the demi-humans all fell on his body and avoided his vital parts.

They did so mainly for venting their anger and punishing, but they did not cross the line.

"What? You look suspicious." Looking at my expression, Kenneth raised the corner of his mouth, "I told you before, even if one is of humble status, the proper order will not exclude him. Under the golden tree, even subhumans can become good neighbors... Their wildness can better communicate with animals, and it also ensures that the Rune Bear in the mist forest will not actively invade Hyde Fortress. So, you should be happy that I can restart communication with them."

I was speechless and could only look at the busy demihumans and asked curiously, "What are they doing now?"

"The demihumans are preparing for the Queen's Return to the Tree Ceremony." After a pause, Kenneth said to me, "Zero, could you please go to the Fog Forest to hunt some animals? Wild boars or wild deer will do, two or three will be enough."

"This is a knight's job, isn't it?" I sighed and stood up. "I'll be back soon."

"please."

I was already familiar with hunting wild boars and deer. After asking the wandering merchant about their approximate locations, I quickly completed the commission.

When I returned to Hyde Fortress, some demihumans were digging a huge pit in the open space at the entrance of the fortress.

Another group of demi-humans, together with Kenneth, moved the demi-human queen's body out of the city.

I quickly stepped forward and joined in.

Afterwards, they buried the queen and the prey I hunted together and planted a tree on top of it.

Around the tree, the demihumans circled together and performed a strange dance.

"This is a kind of sacrifice performed by the demi-humans." Kenneth came over and sat down next to me. "As far as I know, the demi-humans use dancing to indicate that the tribe is safe in order to reassure the queen, and to pray that the queen tree can thrive."

I smiled and joked, "You are almost a humanist in the world. If I encounter a troublesome race in the future and I don't understand something, I will ask you for advice."

"With great pleasure."

There was silence between us for a moment, and then Kenneth suddenly apologized to me: "I'm sorry, Zero."

"what happened?"

"Originally, I had not thought that the situation would become so serious...Now Hyde Fortress is only a name in name only, and I am no longer qualified to make you a knight."

"Well, it doesn't matter. We're not knights, but we're still friends, right~"

——Well, it’s the same situation in the game anyway, I had expected it.

Kenneth looked at me and smiled with relief: "You are really a weirdo."

"Many people who know me say so. So, Kenneth, what are you going to do next?"

"I... I still have many things to deal with at Hyde Fortress, so I can't get away for now. After I finish dealing with the demihumans, I plan to travel all over Nimgfu as I said before, to find a powerful person who can be entrusted with the orthodox government, rather than a weirdo like Xiao Ge." He sighed, "You can see that the land without a king is terrible."

"Can't you do it yourself?" I asked curiously, "I think Kenneth, your ideas and the ability to implement them are enough to be called a hero!"

——This is not just praise, but my sincere recognition.

But Kenneth smiled silently and shook his head: "My strength cannot support the weight of the king."

——If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight

There is no order in the border area nowadays, the strong prey on the weak, and people without power will be broken at the slightest touch, making it difficult for them to gain recognition and submission from others.

But precisely because of this, those who can still implement their ideals with their weak bodies can shine like stars in this era.

——Kenneth Hyde, this man will surely achieve great things in the future!

That’s what I thought.

"You will continue your journey, Zero." Kenneth took out two things from his arms, the Holy Grail of Elixir and the brass dagger. "You wanted this bottle before. It should be very useful to you Faded Ones. And this brass dagger is the symbol of me, Kenneth Hyde. Maybe you will find it useful... Although it is a little meager, please accept it."

"Well, thank you very much! But what will you do when you go out next time?"

"Me? I'll go find Roar then. Hopefully, after things here are over, he'll be waiting for me near the Third Church of Marika."

Oh yeah, and roaring.

In Nimgefu, there are no natural enemies that can suppress the troll giants except for powerful bosses such as the tree guards and the flying dragon Yakir.

Kenneth raised his head and looked at the huge golden tree in the distance: "It will be a long road from now on. I hope we can still meet each other."

A cool breeze is blowing.

As the demi-humans danced, fragments of light rolled up from the small tree in the courtyard and floated away into the distance.