Chapter 160: Act 93 – The Eternal Song of Elves
The wailing faded away with the wind, and the forest returned to silence.
Brendel sighed as he turned around, seeing the light of hope in Romaine and Antinna’s eyes; he thought to himself that girls are ultimately soft-hearted. Although they were enemies moments ago, it was not Medisa’s fault, and besides, the circumstances of that little elf girl were indeed quite pitiful.
“Do you want to save her?”
The Merchant Miss nodded vigorously. Antinna, however, appeared a bit more reserved after hearing this. She bit her lip, wanting to say something but hesitating each time until the words were back in her throat.
“My lord,” Husher spoke up from the side.
Brendel was taken aback, not expecting this mercenary captain to speak. He asked in surprise, “You’re a mercenary.”
Husher immediately fell silent but his voice soon echoed in Brendel’s mind. “My lord, this is a rare opportunity. As a Traveling Mage, you still lack a high-quality card—this little elf girl is exceptionally powerful. If we can seal her, it may very well become a high-quality card.”
“That would require her consent,” Brendel replied inwardly.
In fact, he had thought of this method from the start. Creating a blank card was a fundamental skill for a Traveling Mage, but with Brendel’s current abilities, he could only craft a contract card that consumed 100 wealth and a small amount of mana. This type of card could only come into effect when the sealed party was extremely weak and consenting, yet 100 wealth might seem trivial for a seasoned Traveling Mage, but for Brendel, it represented exactly one month’s savings.
If Medisa did not agree, then he would have wasted 100 wealth. To say he wouldn’t feel heartache would be impossible.
Husher glanced at the Merchant Miss and the noble lady, who looked at Brendel with eager expressions, knowing very well their lord’s choice. The mercenary, who was approaching middle age, smiled slightly and thought, “It wouldn’t hurt to try; otherwise, it would be unsettling.”
Brendel couldn’t help but smile awkwardly.
It was indeed so, but more than he didn’t want to disappoint Romaine and Antinna, he subconsciously didn’t want to disappoint himself. The irreversible facts of his previous life had already occurred, but this life did not have to resemble it, because he was here—Brendel believed that his inexplicable arrival in this world was not without meaning.
100 wealth.
Not only was it a chance for Medisa, but also for himself. From this perspective, it was worth it regardless.
He drew a blank card from his deck, which was not much different from a destiny card, except the front should have a space for an illustration that was completely blank, like an empty room waiting for guests to check-in.
“What is that?” Romaine asked curiously upon seeing the card Brendel took out.
“The lord is going to save that little elf girl,” Husher explained, “by imprinting her soul onto the card, thereby stabilizing the soul fire that is dispersing.”
Antinna’s eyes flickered: “That sounds a lot like the abilities of a summoner, but don’t summoners use crystals? Can souls other than magical creatures also be sealed?”
“That can also be understood as a form of summoning ability,” Husher answered, “but this is a last resort because it’s the only method available. Aside from this, I can’t think of any other way to keep that little girl in this world.”
Antinna and Romaine nodded, having understood Brendel’s actions. After all, the dispersal of soul fire meant the complete loss of existence; energy would revert to its most basic elements and disperse into the world, rather than the conventional notion of returning to the embrace of the Earth Goddess.
Such a method of disappearance was the most painful for living beings, let alone for the highly intelligent elves.
Brendel displayed the card to the empty space. “Medisa, do you wish to travel with me and become a part of the rules of this world?” he spoke, as if a voice within him echoed together with the words.
The blank card flew out of his hand, floating in the air. Brendel waited for a response, about a minute passed, with no voice answering his call. He sighed regretfully, nearly thinking that Medisa had vanished.
Just then, a faint voice suddenly rang out: “…I…have a wish. Can it be granted? Brendel…no, Lord Traveler Mage.” That was Medisa’s voice.
Brendel breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
“Of course, Miss Medisa. Say it.”
“I want to travel with you…I want to see my sister, just once.” The delicate voice replied.
Brendel was taken aback; he had expected a different request. Even if he was to grant her absolute freedom, he wouldn’t have been unable to accept it. He didn’t anticipate that Medisa’s wish would be so simple.
As a silver elf of the silver tribe, she had a long lifespan. It was possible that her father and sister were still alive, so this wish was not unattainable, only a bit troublesome due to their reclusive nature.
He thought for a moment and nodded.
The card immediately flashed with a dark light, and he then saw a line of small text appearing on his retina:
“Contract established.”
Then another prompt appeared:
“A new deck has been discovered, please name it—”
“Eternal Song.” Since it was a silver elf, he decided to name it after the most famous legion of the ancient silver elves.
As the light on the card faded, it fell back into his hand. Brendel picked up the card, and on its surface was an illustration of a lady knight clad in silver-white armor, holding a lance, with a gentle smile—none other than Medisa.
Unicorn Knight
(Eternal Song I)
Darkness 15
【Creature—Heroic Spirit/Knight, Level 35 Elite】
Deploy Unicorn Knight “Medisa. Crescent” into the battlefield.
Maintenance cost: When “Medisa. Crescent” is on the battlefield, pay Darkness 1, 6 wealth every day.
“The elf flag flies high, hearts gleaming, swords shining—”
Brendel held the card and momentarily didn’t know what to do. The card felt cold against his hand, confirming that it was different from an ordinary material. He had considered how high the quality of Medisa’s sealed card could be, as she was indeed a being of the golden tier, but he never expected it would turn out to be a silver quality card.
Ancient Relic.
Aside from the Glimmering Sword, this was his second piece of ancient relic. Tumen had already informed him that destiny cards were far rarer than magical items of the same level, so he had contemplated what his possible second ancient relic could be—but never imagined it would be a destiny card.
But the reality delivered a ‘heavy’ blow to him.
Looking at it now, his 100 wealth investment not only did not go to waste but instead turned a huge profit. Brendel’s mood surged, feeling an urge to laugh out loud, if not for the need to maintain his image in front of the others.
He had been troubled by the various formidable enemies he had encountered. He even thought perhaps he had been cursed in this life; otherwise, why was he always forced to face various challenging foes?
First, he battled the Madara army as a novice, then took down the White Knight before reaching level fifteen, and then played a life-and-death race against Bruglas and the Crusader butchers. Not to mention Mr. Test, who had golden-tier strength and was a member of the Everything Returns Society. Just when he thought things had calmed down for a few months, he had to contend with Bud. And in less than three days, things like the Shepherds, Divine Envoys, and Ghost Knights surfaced one after another, which was utterly intolerable.
Although he wasn’t as afraid of these massive terrifying organizations as typical individuals were, living under the constant surveillance of strong enemies wasn’t pleasant, believe me—absolutely not.
But now it was different; he had a follower at the golden level, even if just the lower tier of it, at least in the southern territories of Erluin, he could barely hold his ground. Regardless of how impressive the Shepherds and the Everything Returns Society were, they wouldn’t possibly send a golden-level assassin to eliminate him, would they?
That was a tactic they would use against foes of earl level and above, and Brendel considered himself not yet at that level. Moreover, even if a golden-level opponent did arrive, with his experience combined with Medisa’s strength, resolving the issue would be smooth and delightful. That was much better than him, a figure barely at silver level, having to charge in headfirst.
In short, at this moment, he felt for the first time as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through. “So this is what it feels like to cling to great power. Good deeds bring good rewards,” Brendel couldn’t help but think self-satisfied in his heart.
Then he turned around, forcing back a smile, and waved the destiny card in his hand at the others: “All set, everyone.”
Antinna and Romaine brightened up, especially the Merchant Miss, who couldn’t help but urge, “That’s great, Brendel. Quickly summon Medisa so we can see her!”
“Ahem.” Brendel coughed, and his expression changed. Romaine’s words struck a nerve; while the Unicorn Knight card was practically a divine artifact for him at that moment, he faced an unavoidable problem: the summoning cost for the card was a full fifteen points of dark elements.
Not to mention the high maintenance cost of 6 wealth and 1 point of dark elements every day.
Let alone how he would find so much dark element; just the daily maintenance fee of 6 wealth was enough to bankrupt him. His wealth from the Wealthy Goldmine card attached to the Sacred Tree Secret Ground was only 4 wealth each day, and he had to deduct 2 points for maintaining the Lubis mercenaries. If he included Medisa, he calculated that he would need two gold mines to cover it.
Brendel couldn’t help but slap his forehead; only the master knows how costly salt and rice are.
……(To Be Continued. For more chapters, please log in to support the author and read the official version!)
