This begins a new event. In the previous story, Joshua reminded the Israelites of their promise to obey God. This story transitions to what the Israelites actually did after Joshua died. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/writing-newevent]])
The connecting word **so** connects the reason (Israel had no king), with the result (everyone did what they thought was right rather than what God said). (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/grammar-connect-logic-result]])