Chapter 198: Act 131 – My Friend (Part 2) (Second Update)
The guide made no mention of this portion of the plot, possibly because their efforts ended too soon. They hadn’t anticipated that these Silver Elves had already appeared on the continent before and after the First Black Rose War.
While pondering this, Brendel idly flipped through the body of the Earth Divine Messenger at his side. The residual magic within the corpse was crystallizing, forming highly pure magical crystals. This was the product of a Level 65 Boss, with the attribute of Divine Blood, making it among the best forging and alchemy materials of its level—second only to treasures from dragons.
He thought about this while unable to resist stealing a glance at Alorze at his side—though he could only see the air around him.
“Do you find something strange, Mister Brendel?”
“Is that so.”
“But Alorze already has a mate, and I am not particularly interested in humanity—still, if it’s Mister Brendel, a casual try wouldn’t hurt.”
“Cough cough?”
Brendel was choking and coughing when both sides glanced at him. Then Count Bal turned around and looked at the silver elf opposite with a cold gaze, breaking the silence first: “Let’s negotiate—”
The Silver Elves nodded.
…
In truth, the protracted and dull negotiations continued until the evening. In reality, the true participants were only Count Bal, Livwz, and the knight commander of the Silver Elves. On the other side, Makarolo and Bud, following Brendel’s instructions, pulled a bloodied Aike out of the bushes and begrudgingly thanked him—a clear sign that the Silver Elves intended to protect Brendel. They cited his defense of their King’s Tomb as the reason, so they had to lower their stance. In fact, Brendel gained much more from this. He could feel that he had almost won the highest respect from the Silver Elves side. Not only did those warriors treat him kindly, but the elf commander also privately presented him with a silver ginkgo leaf. Brendel of course didn’t think this was a token of affection—although it looked like a bookmark, he understood that it was far more than just that. In fact, it was a proof of goodwill. In other words, if he ever encountered problems in Erluin, he could present this silver ginkgo leaf to seek political asylum.
Of course, that was just a joke.
The silver ginkgo leaf represented a debt owed by the Silver Elves to him. He or his descendants, possessing this ginkgo leaf, could gain one opportunity to seek help from the Silver Elves. As for what kind of help, Brendel had not tried it before, but he knew in the previous life that someone used this thing to lease more than a hundred armored elf infantry from the Silver Elves.
The lease term was one hundred years—
Although these were not as rare as the Phoenix Guard, they were still top-notch armies on the continent. However, despite his curiosity, his rationality told him it would be unwise to immediately display an eager attitude. After all, this was a real world and not a game. Building a good relationship with the Silver Elves beforehand would always benefit him in the future.
Displaying such impatience at the beginning would only lead the noble and aloof race to look down on him, which would not be beneficial in the long run.
Count Violet silently watched all this happen, but knew that it was impossible for him to let his subordinates engage in battle with the Silver Elves here; the Holy Song Legion’s reputation once resonated across the continent, and even after seven centuries, no one dared to challenge it. The prudent middle-aged nobleman, after comparing the strength of both sides, made the wise choice: After both sides left the neutral area of the negotiation, they each returned to their own camps, and then ordered their forces to turn, retreating three hundred meters respectively, relaxing the tense atmosphere in the forest.
Brendel sat by the Earth Divine Messenger’s corpse and could not help but feel surprised as he watched this scene unfold. Although he did not participate in the negotiations, he knew that the core of the talks must have revolved around the reason why the Silver Elves reappeared on the continent after disappearing for hundreds of years—this region, though it was once the territory of the Elf Empire, had already been given up by them. Thus, Erluin had the right to declare sovereignty. Several hundred years later, it had already become an integral part of the kingdom’s territory. Even the most intimate allies of the past could not interfere here at will.
But Brendel could see that the attitude of the Silver Elves was extremely hardline, unwilling to give an inch. He did not know what kind of agreement had been reached to allow Count Bal and Livwz to accept.
“Why do you think the Silver Elves have returned to the continent?” He suddenly asked.
The dragon maiden Alorze immediately responded with nonchalance.
“How would I possibly know the things of those strange individuals, they don’t even deal with outsiders—Oh dear, don’t disturb me during my important work!” The maiden’s voice suddenly complained.
“Important work?”
“Of course! I’m writing a play, about the story of Knight Brendel. I finally have inspiration, you know. Oh, I forgot to mention to Mister Brendel; my primary profession is a poet—”
“A poet?”
Brendel’s brows furrowed at this. It seemed that poets were an exceptionally popular profession among the dragon race. He remembered an extremely famous plot from the game before: there was a dragon that constructed a huge underground castle all by itself underground, then captured many powerful monsters and placed them in it, serving as bosses and other monsters. Then, it allowed uninformed players to enter and challenge, while it recorded the results and compiled them into stories. Of course, those players who truly defeated the bosses received a treasure—a treasure that in fact was an extremely small part of that dragon’s collection. In fact, later it was proven to be less than a tenth of the benefits it accrued from each story.
He remembered this dungeon to be a Level 45 dungeon. At first, players thought it was just an ordinary dungeon, but later the truth was uncovered, spreading as a legendary tale.
But the eccentric taste of the dragon race could be seen from this as well.
Of course, compared to those who became wealthy through labor, this particular dragon was at least better than some unscrupulous ones who simply plundered wealth.
“Of course, of course,” The dragon maiden was clearly pleased, but then the tone changed: “Don’t bother me, how annoying. Oh well, I’ll go write it myself—” After she spoke, the sound by his side faded away.
“Hmph.” He couldn’t help but utter a derisive sound.
But it was at this very moment that he suddenly heard a soft “snap” behind him. The young man thought it was Alorze returning so quickly—when he turned back, however, he saw Naminez standing there. The former commander of the Phoenix Guard had removed his helmet now; looking seriously at Brendel and then looking at the huge beast’s corpse beside the young man, a flicker of puzzlement passed through his silver eyes.
Brendel was momentarily taken aback.
But he chuckled and suddenly said, “I think, Naminez—”
Naminez looked at him, slightly startled.
“You might as well put your helmet back on.”
“Why?” The Silver Elf asked indifferently.
“You look too handsome this way. I’m a bit overwhelmed.” The young man sighed.
Naminez couldn’t help but smile for the first time. He thought about it carefully and obediently put his helmet back on, only leaving his silver eyes visible. He looked at Brendel for a moment, then suddenly said, “I’m leaving, Brendel.”
Brendel was slightly startled.
He had never really considered this question before.
But wasn’t it inevitable?
The mission was finished. Of course, Naminez should go back.
Suddenly, he wanted to say something, but when the words came to the edge of his tongue, they caught in his throat—as the days of fighting alongside each other came vividly back to him. Though not a word was exchanged, the reliable camaraderie had blossomed within him from the depths of his heart. He glanced at the other side, lowering his head, pondering where Naminez would return to? The Tomb of the Silver Elves, or the altar? The power of the Saya’s altar was waning day by day. Though he said he would one day come to tell the outside world’s news to Saya, could they possibly meet again? Perhaps it would be just like a true quest task. They were merely passing acquaintances who would, upon returning, find that in the forests of Shubli, only a lonely altar remained.
Brendel knew such a possibility was extremely high.
He wanted to say something, but suddenly felt a void within, unable to articulate a single word.
The young man hesitated for a long time, and finally managed to say, voice filled with a seemingly careless tone, “Are you leaving, Naminez? But you haven’t fulfilled your promise, are you going to renege on it?”
The Silver Elf commander gave a small, exasperated laugh: “Reneging, one of your human’s inventions. Of course I am bound by my word.”
As he said this, he took out a scroll from his bosom and handed it to Brendel.
Naminez hesitated a moment, and replied softly: “All my thoughts are written on it, my friend.”
This statement hit Brendel like a bolt of lightning, leaving him motionless for a long time. Naminez smiled faintly and handed him the scroll, gently embracing Brendel: “Thank you for bringing us a long-awaited battle, igniting the passion within my heart anew. You’re excellent, your combat was spectacular, but all feasts must end. Also, you still owe me a promise—”
The Silver Elf commander whispered: “Remember to tell me what happens outside, several decades hence, even a hundred years. Don’t ‘renege’—is that what you call it?” He strained to pronounce the word ‘renege’ in Cruzian, and then asked with a smile.
“It is…”
Brendel wiped his eyes with his hand.
“The wind is a bit strong,” he said.
Naminez nodded in understanding as his body gradually disappeared into the air, only his final smile lingering, fading slowly away. At that moment, the spirits of twenty elven warriors rose as streaks of white light and vanished far into the southern part of the forest somewhere—
Everyone witnessed this scene, but only the Silver Elves, Alorze, and Brendel truly understood what had happened. The young man saw the Silver Elf knight commander far away giving him a friendly nod, as if to console him.
Brendel’s heart was slightly consoled, feeling a bit relieved. Yes, Naminez was right. There are no feasts that last forever.
Isn’t it?
… (To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please log in, for more chapters. Support the author and enjoy正版 reading!)
