Chapter 1035: Act 207 – Flames of Dawn VIII
“Cold Dew Manor?” Brendel tapped the table with his fingertips, pondering as he replied, “Delphine hasn’t found out the locations of where Lady Varla and the conservatives from the Temple of Fire are imprisoned yet. If the Silver Queen isn’t trying to deceive us, assuming that the former prince’s residence and a location in Cold Dew Manor is where the ‘prison’ is, then the other place…”
In fact, ever since the Silver Queen split the temple, she referred to the faction represented by Varla as conservatives, while the other faction represented by the academic school was the reformists.
“Xi is there.” Medisa’s silver eyes sparkled slightly as she understood what he meant to express.
“Lord, shall we take action?” she asked immediately.
Brendel shook his head. “It would be best to scout first.” He replied, even though this place indeed seemed very likely, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that the Silver Queen had intentionally set a trap or a diversion. The best course of action was to infiltrate and investigate: “Tonight, I and…”
“Brendel, let me go!”
Before he could finish, Faina interrupted him.
The young lady of Flower Leaf Territory spoke almost without thinking, and then as if realizing what she had just said, she noticed Brendel and Medisa staring at her in astonishment, her face suddenly flushed as if it were on fire: “… I—I meant, I’m very familiar with that place.”
“But Faina, you don’t seem to know how to infiltrate, do you?” Brendel couldn’t help but ask.
“I’ve learned about infiltration and covert operations, my teacher also taught me, it’s just…” Faina replied softly.
“It’s just that you have no practical experience, right?”
Faina’s face turned red as she stubbornly said, “Even without practical experience, I can still do well.”
“This isn’t a picnic, my lady.”
“I know…” Faina blinked gently, her tone weakening: “I…I can stay at the perimeter, I know a few little-known paths there…”
“That won’t do either,” Brendel shook his head: “It’s unsafe. According to our prior plan, non-combatants should try to avoid engaging in battle.”
Faina could only shut her mouth, glaring resentfully at Brendel with her azure eyes.
Just as Brendel thought she was about to throw a tantrum, she bit her lip and replied softly, “I understand…”
This contrast surprised Brendel; his impression of this young lady was still that of the headstrong little princess from the Loop of Trade Winds. He was prepared for her to throw a fit, but unexpectedly, she simply said, “I understand,” leaving him feeling as if he had hit a fist against cotton.
He couldn’t help but look at her warily; he had seen this behavior the most in one person—Merchant Miss. Because typically, Little Romain would speak nicely in such situations but would follow that up with the complete opposite in action, and despite numerous lessons, she never changed, which gave him a headache.
Fortunately, he knew Faina wouldn’t be so shameless; this young lady possessed her own pride and wouldn’t stoop so low.
Medisa, observing the conversation between the two, shot a mysterious smile at Faina and suggested to Brendel, “Lord, actually, I think it might be better to bring Miss Faina along.”
Brendel was slightly taken aback; he hadn’t expected Medisa to suddenly switch sides.
“Medisa?” He turned to look at her, as if confirming whether she was joking.
At this moment, Faina also raised her head, looking at Medisa with some surprise.
“Because Lady Sidney isn’t suitable for entering the city; her presence is too conspicuous,” Medisa replied with a smile. She was possibly the person who had followed Brendel the longest, aside from Charles, and could see through her lord’s thoughts at a glance, which allowed her to speak freely: “Assuming this is the Silver Queen’s trap, then her target could very well be Lady Sidney, rather than Miss Faina. After all, she has had plenty of opportunities these past few days, so why go through the extra trouble?”
Brendel suddenly had an epiphany; this was reverse thinking. If the Silver Queen was using Varla as bait, then her target was likely just as Medisa said, the statue of the Saintess in the Lion’s Holy Palace. She had a pressing motivation to obtain the holy sword Odrefice, which was a crucial step in consolidating and controlling the Temple of Fire. In his faction, aside from himself—Odin’s inheritor—Lady Sidney was probably the most important to this queen.
Relatively speaking, the affiliation of Flower Leaf Territory was indeed not that crucial to her.
So, if Lady Sidney couldn’t enter the imperial capital, he actually needed to choose one from Delphine and Faina, who were familiar with the capital, as a substitute, and comparatively, Faina seemed a bit more suitable, even though both lacked self-defense capability. But at least she was a student of Veronika and possessed excellent swordsmanship.
As for the Chancellor’s Daughter, ever since she took the youth potion with side effects, she was no different from an ordinary person. In fact, in this era where the magical tide began to deepen its influence on the entire world, her lack of any power made her possibly even less capable than an ordinary person.
Thinking of this, Brendel couldn’t help but glance at Faina.
“Is that okay?”
“That’s for Miss Faina to decide if she’s ready,” Medisa answered seriously. “This is a dangerous task.”
“I’m fine!” Faina hurriedly replied. “I will protect myself, don’t forget who my teacher is.”
Seeing this young lady’s demeanor, Brendel really wanted to retort that her teacher was currently imprisoned in the moss house, but respecting the military leader lady made it hard to bear—instead of voicing it, he held it in.
He sighed; although this might not be the best choice, at least it wasn’t the worst, thinking that’s all he could do.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door from outside, creating a steady sound. Brendel instinctively glanced at the sky, guessing who might be out there. Faina turned to open the door and indeed found Lady Sidney standing outside with a serious expression.
Because Brendel had promised to help this lady restore the holy sword Odrefice, she appeared at this time almost every day, neither a minute earlier nor a minute later, and over time, others had gotten used to it.
However, today, in addition to the Saintess from the Lion’s Holy Palace, Delphine had also just come upstairs.
The Chancellor’s Daughter wore a half-smile on her face, but the unfriendly look in her eyes made Faina feel somewhat uncomfortable, and she instinctively took a step back.
“Lady Sidney, Delphine, you’re here.” Brendel greeted them.
Delphine smiled faintly, indicating that she was simply passing by.
Brendel turned to look at the expressionless Sidney: “Lady Sidney.”
“Sorry to disturb you, Count,” the voice of the Saintess from the Lion’s Holy Palace remained as flat as plain water. “Could you spare some time?”
Brendel nodded; he had already promised her back in Fatan Port that he would help her restore the holy sword Odrefice once the battle at Fatan Port concluded. Now that they had won, he naturally wouldn’t find an excuse to go back on his word, especially since he was very interested in the legendary Flame Blade.
Seeing this, Medisa quickly stood up and signaled Faina with her eyes, taking the young lady of Flower Leaf Territory out. Although Delphine remained standing outside the door, she didn’t intend to enter, as if, just as she mentioned, she was merely passing by.
After Lady Sidney entered the room, Medisa closed the door and then looked at Delphine.
The Chancellor’s Daughter seemed slightly taken aback, as if sensing something and asked, “Do you have something to say to me, Miss Medisa?”
“I originally thought once you returned to the capital, you would betray us,” Medisa spoke softly.
“But I haven’t, have I?” Delphine smiled: “We worked well together at Fatan Port, Miss Medisa. Why don’t you choose to continue believing in me?”
“Because I feel no sincerity from you,” Medisa answered: “Elves can discern those who harbor malicious intentions; this refers specifically to Silver Elves. I can’t see through your thoughts, Miss Delphine, but I know you don’t have good intentions.”
“Are you really a Silver Elf, Miss Medisa?”
But Medisa ignored her.
Delphine sighed: “So, I don’t understand what you want to say, Miss Medisa. You should understand that everything I am doing now is not harmful to you.”
“Lord Brendel believes that the conflict between you two is merely a misunderstanding, and he appreciates you—this appreciation is akin to that towards Miss Mistral—but that doesn’t mean I will hence soften,” Medisa’s face turned cold, and she rarely showed such a side in front of others: “I just want to repeat what I said last time—”
“Don’t give me a chance to let my spear pierce your heart,” she said, staring coldly into Delphine’s eyes, leading each word with a pause: “Tas—la—Giem, eternal enmity, no holds barred—I swear by the ancient proverb of the Silver Elves; you should have heard this saying.”
“Vow of enmity,” Delphine’s purple eyes flickered.
……
Night had fallen outside, and the candles inside illuminated the room.
Lady Sidney recited a spell, then extended her right hand as if grasping the hilt of a sword in the void. She slowly pulled to the right, drawing out a sword from the air, worn and scarred. The sword’s body was broken into numerous fragments, glinting with a metallic luster, floating in space while maintaining the shape of a sword, the edge occasionally flickering with a dark red glow.
This was the holy sword Odrefice.
Brendel had witnessed this scene many times before, but each time he was still shaken; this was the physical manifestation of the holy sword. It had long perished with the departure of the Flame King, making it impossible for the craftsmen to reforge its body. The fragments of the Flame Blade that Lady Sidney brought out from the temple were merely of greater commemorative significance to the followers of the Temple of Flame since it was made by the hands of the Flame King Gilt’s creation, but in essence, it was no different from ordinary sword fragments.
He only recently became aware of this secret, which made him question whether the Earth Sword he held had the same fate; although Haran Gaya was more complete, Sidney had told him that if the tangible form of the Flame Blade remained intact in the material world, its power would be on par with the Earth Sword. Over time, the legacy of belief seeped into the blade, transforming it from a mundane object into a powerful ancient holy sword. It’s worth mentioning that Eke’s Lionheart Holy Sword was once just an ordinary sword.
The hearts of men gather to form belief; renown weaves legend. The latent powerful desires, along with the magic in language and text, engraved these objects of the world into the realm of laws, allowing ancient artifacts to exist.
Lady Sidney let go of the sword, gesturing for him to come forward.
Brendel was already adept; he reached out to receive the hilt of the holy sword from her hand. A familiar sensation responded from the sword; in fact, during the battle at Fatan Port, he had already infused the shards of Odrefice with the soul’s acknowledgment, establishing an elusive connection with the Flame Blade.
However, restoring Odrefice wasn’t as simple, as the soul of the holy sword fell into slumber due to its fragmented projection in the world of laws, and the reason behind that fragmentation stemmed from the lack of belief—having lost its relying existence in the present world.
Now this ancient soul had awakened again and recognized him, but its physical form in the world remained without a foothold.
The formation of a belief and the birth of a legend can never be supported by a single individual; even if Brendel possessed the soul of Odrefice, he couldn’t grant the Flame Blade new life.
What he must do was regain its glory.
He grasped the hilt of the Flame Blade, and the ancient soul within him immediately resonated with its remaining physical form, creating layers of illusions before his eyes…
What forged its legend, allowing its name to traverse the land, making it celebrated by all, enabling this holy sword to exist in this world?
Then, where was the pride of the sword?
It was once the holy sword of the Temple of Fire, wielded by the Flame King to usher in an era, the pure flames separating the dark thorns, carving a path through despair.
But what Brendel saw in the illusion wasn’t the most glorious moment of the Flame King—on the Saintly White Plain, he declared the end of an unprecedented vast empire. From that moment, all injustice and oppression proclaimed their end, the Flame Blade Odrefice shone brightly in his hand beneath the sunlight piercing through the dark clouds.
He saw everything burning fiercely in flames, palaces and cities, a scene that felt familiar. Countless pairs of eyes were defiant, the fire burning within them; what burned to ashes in the flames was the foolish pride.
What nurtured the unyielding nature of the flames was the resistance under oppression; it existed, proclaiming that everyone could firmly grasp their own destiny.
This was the golden flame, symbolizing the oath of struggle and unwavering resolve.
‘So I shall give it, rather than the empire, to the world—’
This was the path of the Golden Flame.
