Elden Ring: 2,000 Hour Speedrunner Becomes a Dragon Chapter 2 2: Night Attack

Late at night, inside the imperial tent, a single candle flickered on the desk. Beside it, a Soothing Incense Burner smoldered quietly, releasing the faint, refreshing scent of herbs. Lucia sat by the bed, intently reading a book titled Origins of the Uld Dynasty Faith.

As one of the earliest civilizations in human history, the Uld Dynasty rose during the early Age of Stars, approximately three thousand years ago. Its ergence as a unified kingdom can be traced back almost to the founding days of Farum Azula. The Uld ancestors once lived alongside the Horned Folk in the central regions of The Lands Between—specifically the Altus Plateau, the most prosperous region today. There, they established a civilization whose splendor rivaled that of the Storm Dynasty in the south.

However, about a thousand years ago, just as the Uld Dynasty reached its peak, a Great War—vaguely described in historical records—destroyed almost all civilizations centered in the Altus Plateau overnight. The Uld Dynasty and the Horned Folk tribes were annihilated. Farum Azula, the capital of the Ancient Dragon Dynasty originally located at the center of the continent, saw more than half of its structures crumble and drift away to the eastern seas.

According to oral traditions passed down within the Ancient Dragons, this cataclysm is known as the "Forbidden War."

"The cause of the war, the participants, and the process... none of it is recorded," Lucia murmured, flipping through the thin pages that glossed over the event with sparse brevity.

For so unknown reason, those who survived the Forbidden War chose to remain silent. Consequently, when later generations looked back at that period, they only felt an eerie sensation, as if the world had been deleted and restarted.

Lucia tried to use his knowledge of the ga's plot to solve the mystery, but after finding no leads, he put down the book. Stretching his shoulders, he walked out of the tent. It was nearly midnight. The entire camp was silent, save for the rhythmic clanking of armor from the second-shift patrol and the gentle sigh of the autumn wind.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His ntal energy extended in all directions like a massive spider web, covering the camp and expanding hundreds of ters into the wilderness.

As a pure-blooded Ancient Dragon Demigod, Lucia's talent for "Mind" was extraordinary. While there were no status bars in this reality, his ntal energy directly determined his capacity for incantations and sorcery. Even without formal training, he could detect movent within a one-kiloter radius—a feat that had the Dragon Elders whispering of his future potential.

He cald his mind, capturing the subtle activities of the night: a hawk diving for a rabbit, fish fighting the current, crickets chirping in the grass... and then, a fracture.

Lucia's spirit jolted. In his ntal vision, a turbulent static point appeared three hundred ters south. It was as if space itself had cracked, emitting a bone-chilling, frigid aura—yet his eyes saw only a peaceful night sky.

More static points appeared, surrounding the camp. The air grew heavy with an eerie pressure. The patrolling knights felt the shift, but before they could react, Lucia's voice tore through the silence:

"Enemy attack!"

Over twenty sigils shaped like pupils erged out of thin air. They burned with black and white flas, spreading a frost that coated the grass instantly. Figures clad in pale hide clothing and hooded cowls stepped from the sigils. Gloam-colored gems hung from their chests, and they brandished twin-bladed swords made of polished bone.

"Godskin Apostles!" Aegis shouted in bewildernt, rushing out with a long spear in hand.

The Apostles had been missing for over a century, vanished along with their enigmatic "Gloam-Eyed Queen."

The mont they appeared, Lucia dashed back into his tent. He grabbed his blade and triggered the divine barrier placed by the Elders. A spherical cage wreathed in lightning and dragonfire rose from the ground, sealing the imperial tent. He knew his limits; he could barely fight two Storm Knights, let alone these legendary assassins. Staying safe was the best way to help his guards.

On the western hill, Guilel sensed the intrusion. As she prepared to leap into the fray, a sudden chill washed over her. The sharp whistle of a blade cut the air by her ear.

She tilted her head instinctively, dodging a rapier thrust. She twisted her body in mid-air, swinging her dragon-scale blade in a vicious arc.

The blades clashed, throwing sparks into the night. Under the moonlight, Guilel saw her opponent: a massive Godskin Noble. In his hand was the Godskin Stitcher, a heavy rapier used to slay divine beings and fashion their skin into robes.

Guilel's athletic form blurred. White dragon scales covered her skin like flowing water, and a cold bone mask obscured her face. Towering dragon horns erupted from her brow, and her sword-arm transford into a muscled dragon claw.

Clang! The dragon-scale blade struck the Godskin Stitcher. The mountain-shattering force made even the massive Noble stagger back.

"Hmph," the Noble sneered. "The Dragon Clan is indeed the peak of the mortal world. To think a re Greater Drake possesses such power."

In the camp below, the Wyvern Warriors launched a counterattack. Though they were Lesser Drakes, their partial dragonification allowed them to suppress the Apostles in coordinated strikes. Aegis and the Elders were beating back the invaders, leaving nearly ten hooded corpses scattered across the camp.

"Since you know you are no match, who gave you the courage to invade this seat?" Guilel said coldly, unleashing a tide of blade light.

The Noble parried with one hand, his arm stretching and contracting like rubber to dodge her strikes. He tapped his foot, gliding lightly onto a rock. He chuckled, "My lady, you misunderstand."

"You are the most powerful beings of the mortal world," he spread his arms, his voice turning fanatical. "But we follow the Queen of Death to slay the Divine!"

Endless black flas rose beneath his feet, turning the hilltop into a blazing torch. Roaring pillars of fire ford an insurmountable cage, trapping Guilel within.

"I only played with you to delay you," the Noble mocked. "We were born to slay the Divine, and only a Demigod is worthy of our full strength."

Guilel looked down the hill. The remaining Apostles launched suicidal charges against the Elders and Aegis. While they were distracted, another black fla sigil appeared outside the wall closest to the imperial tent.

Amidst the fire, a second Godskin Noble erged. He cut down two Wyvern Warriors in a blur of motion and headed straight for Lucia.