Chapter 719: Act 78 – The Lost Name II
The ruins, shrouded in darkness, took on a unique bluish-gray hue under the light emitted by the gem, a color characteristic of basalt. Among the many races in Vaunte, only the Minren favored using this particular volcanic rock to construct magnificent buildings. The ruins stood silently in the woods as the knight guards passed between the towering basalt columns, dragging the massive corpse of a pine bear, its ribs pierced by ropes, to the center of the camp located right in the middle of the ruins.
A pile of corpses accumulated like a small hill.
The group had encountered these unwelcome guests half an hour ago. The pine bears belonged to the category of terrifying beasts, which the Crusian referred to as ferocious animals. They were creatures caught between monsters and animals; unlike monsters, which dissipated their magical power after death leaving only crystals, they became the best food supply for Brendel and his companions.
Fortunately, after entering the Eternal Night Forest, they had hardly seen any living animals, aside from the occasional lost critter. The Anlasar Forest did not harbor large carnivorous beasts; this group of pine bears must have come from the northern region of Lantonrand, accidentally wandering into the forest, and under the erosion of dark magic, had crazily attacked Brendel and his party.
Brendel knew that pine bears were actually very gentle carnivorous beasts; usually, they only preyed on large herbivores, like the deer herds on the northern shore of Crystal Lake, or a type of ungulate as large as a hippopotamus known as the “slave cow.” However, they rarely attacked humans.
The pelt of the pine bear was rolled up and tossed aside. Peiya took the initiative to undertake this task; for the huntress girl, it was a familiar chore. She made an incision along the spine with her skinning knife, then flipped it over. The hunter’s skinning knife was passed down through generations, the blade curving slightly, thin and elongated, resembling a silver ruler. She made the cut down to the tail vertebra and spread it to both sides, skillfully removing a complete bear hide in just over ten minutes.
After watching for a while, Brendel turned around. In his hand, he held a piece of transparent crystal like bright yellow amber—this was the magical crystal left by the Twilight Hounds. It was slightly larger than the black wolf’s, containing more magic, but no satisfaction was evident on Brendel’s face as he stared at several sharp white rocks chaotic in a tangled nest not far ahead.
This should be the nesting place of the Twilight Hounds, but now only the ruins remained after its destruction.
Someone had been there first; it was unknown whether it was Anlek or the Crusian. In the distance, Nemeses approached, walking carefully over the scattered stones with Freya, shaking her head as she got closer to him, “We didn’t find any valuable clues. They didn’t camp here; after destroying this nest, they headed north. There are signs of a battle nearby, but not on a large scale… Perhaps there’s another possibility; the Twilight Hounds were eliminated before they had time to react.”
“The Twilight Hounds are very vigilant—”
“However, it seems they came from another direction?”
“There’s a high probability. I couldn’t have missed any signs before; those people must not have taken the same route as us,” Nemeses chuckled thoughtfully.
“I trust your judgment. But do you think it’s Anlek or the Crusian?”
Brendel’s statement, ‘I trust your judgment,’ made Nemeses glance at him in surprise for a moment. “It’s likely Anlek; the Crusian entering the forest from Varlanden wouldn’t stray in this direction. However, we can’t rule out other possibilities. Lord, are there adventurers in this forest?”
“Occasionally, there are some.”
Nemeses looked up towards the forest, deep in thought. Freya quietly asked, “Brendel, should we continue moving forward?”
“No need to; Anlek is only about a week ahead of us in Anlasar Forest. He won’t be more familiar with this forest than we are. If they didn’t take the same route as us, then we have probably caught up by a day,” Brendel actually didn’t want to meet Anlek too early, as Anlek should still be unaware of their pursuit; letting the other side encounter trouble would serve him well.
Moreover, Nemeses’s earlier words reminded him that if there weren’t any significant signs of battle in the forest, he suspected that the leader of the Twilight Hounds might still be lurking around the woods.
“Let’s camp here,” he said, “The vastness of the Black Forest is hard for ordinary people to comprehend. We should let everyone rest properly; this time it’s probably not a matter of just one or two days.”
Freya glanced at him and nodded obediently.
Dinner was a sumptuous feast of pine bear, prepared by Charles and Peiya. According to Charles himself, he was a gourmet in his past life, having traveled through many regions solely to learn and record local culinary cultures; while Peiya had all the qualities that a poor child should possess: diligence, resilience, and skillfulness, handling prey with ease.
Bear meat stew, roasted bear meat, and a warm campfire brought a hint of warmth to the cold and silent night, and Brendel had Himelam set up a barrier to block sounds and scents, preventing more monsters from being attracted in the forest.
Charles referred to it as the ‘Feast in the Forest.’ It was said that the fairy king Muglin from the Elves of the Erlandta Chinos Peninsula often hosted guests in the forest, and on that night, fairies would illuminate the forest with various magical lamps, transforming it into an outdoor palace, hence the feast in the forest was named. The young wizard’s metaphor was agreed upon by everyone, and while they couldn’t indulge in drinking, everyone praised the ‘sumptuous’ feast.
The banquet in the forest came to a close around eight or nine o’clock, and soon the ruins fell silent. The knights from the royal knight group were the most outstanding soldiers of Erluin, naturally not as undisciplined as the typical noble’s private soldiers. With the camp left only with the glowing embers and flickering shadows alongside the night watch knights.
Brendel particularly liked the campfire in the darkness.
The bright flames seemed to dispel the darkness and cold in one’s heart. Every time he sat beside the campfire, watching the dancing flames outlining the contours of the ground, he couldn’t help but recall the days spent in the game. Compared to the mundane lives of ordinary adventurers, players were always carefree; sometimes, his senior would propose small activities, and those interludes were always accompanied by laughter. Brendel couldn’t help but smile at several amusing experiences that crossed his mind.
Medisa’s hand rested on the front page of a book with a red cover, quietly observing her Lord. Sometimes, she often noticed a reminiscing expression on Brendel’s face. However, she never asked too much, secretly thinking that it must be a very warm memory.
Medisa also had some warm memories; ever since her soul returned to this world, she often recalled everything from the past. But for the undead, memory was a painful process. She remembered her sister, mother, father; it felt as though her soul was being peeled away. The dark magic always tempted her to ponder the question she had long been unwilling to face.
In the darkness, it seemed as if a voice whispered in her ear: Why were you the one who sacrificed? You should have had better memories; do you remember everything that happened after the War of the Saints? No, you can’t remember because you’ve never had memories after that.
You were born in war and died in war; your life has never experienced peaceful days. How could you understand the happiness of mortals?
But the Silver Elf Princess quietly buried these negative emotions in her heart and then raised her head, facing her future with a smile. She looked at Brendel, her eyes sparkling with admiration and longing, as if from this Lord, she could find her own sense of the ordinary.
Brendel seemed to finally notice the gaze of the Silver Elf Princess. He was slightly taken aback and then saw the book in Medisa’s hands. It was a folklore and geographic record of the Crusian and Silent Bay region. Ever since she reintegrated into human society, Medisa had shown interest in the current human society, but Brendel knew that she was actually learning how to blend in with others.
She always considered problems from the perspective of others first.
“Is there something you don’t understand?” Brendel gently asked. A thousand years ago, even now, the Silver Elf’s way of thinking was vastly different from that of humans. Sometimes, Medisa couldn’t understand certain human words and had to seek help from him.
“Um—”
Medisa suddenly found her Lord somewhat adorable and let out a light nasal sound. “I don’t quite understand why people in Silent Bay would give lilies to their loved ones on the day of the Midsummer Festival. Does this have some symbolic meaning?”
Brendel paused for a moment, not expecting such a question—though Medisa was a princess and an important leader of the Silver Elves, she still had her girlhood innocence—he thought for a moment and replied, “Because in the mountain folks’ legends, midsummer represents fiery passion, just like love blossoming. Since the long dark ages, people have believed the Midsummer Festival belongs to the festival of the trade winds; sailors think the trade winds symbolize the transmission of longing. I think there might be some connection with this.”
“Unlike the Elves,” Medisa quietly replied, “the Elves see it as a mutual waiting, an enduring bond that even the passage of time cannot penetrate. It’s like the distant song in the Black Forest, gently lingering in people’s hearts.”
“That’s because human lives are so short that they cannot comprehend the meaning of time. For mortals, bursting forth with a brilliant light in a short time—even if it is a fleeting brilliance—is enough to earn respect. The Elves, with their long lives, understand the meaning of waiting, yet mortals clumsily traverse the cyclical history. Time runs parallel in two ways; it seems that summer insects cannot speak of ice, but how could long-lasting beauty understand ephemeral beauty?”
“Is that so?”
Medisa closed the book and tilted her head, “Lord, may I lean on you for a moment?”
Brendel hesitated; he noticed Medisa’s serene expression and eventually nodded. The Silver Elf Princess’s tone was like a feather, soft enough to be irresistible. Moreover, her requests were never many, leaving people with the impression of her best side.
Then he felt a gentle body pressing against him. Medisa showed a knowing smile, as if she recalled the moments of being next to her mother.
“Back then, my mother would tell me stories about heroes; my biggest wish was to become a person like them.”
“Hmm?”
“But now, I just want to be an ordinary person. Thank you, Lord.”
Medisa made a barely audible sound as she spoke.
…
(PS: Only two days left for today, everyone hang in there.) (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly votes on Qidian (qidian.com); your support is my greatest motivation.)
