Chapter 1039: Act 211 – The Flame of Dawn XII
The Hanlu Manor has two entrances, front and back, each guarded by a squad of city guards according to Medephis’s reconnaissance. However, the long borders and iron railings of the manor can only keep out ordinary people; while there are a few patrols, they are made up of city guards who have no defense against elemental realm opponents.
In contrast, on Brendel’s side, both Medephis and Andrigraphis have made tremendous progress in strength after the battle along the Evergreen Path and have reached mid-level in the Elemental Realm. The earlier summoned Charles, Medisa, and Himelam have further advanced, subtly showing power that hints at reaching the side of Truth.
With such strength, Brendel doesn’t even need to deal with these ‘ordinary people’ directly; he simply passes through the central garden of the courtyard, and to these soldiers, it’s merely a fleeting illusion. When they look back, they see only emptiness and think they are experiencing hallucinations.
The main road in the center of the courtyard leads to the front door, where a fountain has been constructed in the square. Here, two patrols remain, clearly stronger than the outer city guards. By their attire, Brendel recognizes that these are Rustra’s palace guards.
On either side of the fountain, there is a garden featuring a hedge maze. Besides a few hidden scouts, there are no eyes watching at all. These few scouts are completely incapable of surveying a man-made maze; such an obvious loophole in defense goes unnoticed by them.
Seeing this scene, Brendel can’t help but believe a third of the mysterious witch’s words; the Silver Queen is clearly setting a trap for him, fearing he wouldn’t be able to enter the central area of the manor.
However, they have underestimated him. Even doubling their defenses would not necessarily stop him; the Queen truly is overly cautious.
This trap seems quite obvious now, but Brendel has not developed any intention to retreat. Originally, he had come specifically for this trap, and with good fortune, he might even take away some bait from it to surprise the Silver Queen.
Of course, although he is to delve into the wolf’s den, he cannot do so unprepared; an escape route must still be arranged. Brendel takes out a fist-sized gray crystal from the dimensional hole and hands it to Charles, who immediately wraps it in a spell, then tosses it into the bushes.
Next, protected by the hedges, the group continues forward, setting up several detonation points along the way. When they reach the final stretch without cover, Charles casts an invisibility barrier, enveloping everyone within.
The Silver Queen’s intentional relaxation of defenses saves them significant trouble. Brendel had initially thought that they would need to expend at least a dozen spells to get this far; he had specially prepared several types of magical potions for Charles, to prevent any awkward situations akin to running out of mana in a game.
Surprisingly, as of now, Charles has only cast a few spells—this includes the guiding marks placed on the gray crystal that barely cost him any effort. As a result, none of the previous preparations were utilized.
Yet, this is actually good news for the upcoming battle—
Upon reaching the entrance to the villa, Brendel is astonished once more by the defensive force here—among the palace guards left behind, there isn’t a single wizard. Although there is a small identification barrier on the door, such things are practically toys for an evolved elemental like Charles.
In Vaunte, an evolved elemental wizard is referred to as a Grand Mage, a title of great honor; wizards reaching this stage are much rarer than warriors. Aside from the anomalous Bud people, there are very few true Grand Mages even among the high tower wizards.
If Charles returned to Karasu in this identity, he could easily gain access to the upper echelon of high tower wizards and compete for a position among the “Seven Heads.”
The power of a Grand Mage is worlds apart from that of an ordinary wizard; where an ordinary wizard would expend significant effort to deal with this feeble identification barrier, a Grand Mage could overcome it with a mere flick of their wrist.
The Silver Queen wouldn’t think that there isn’t even a single evolved elemental Grand Mage by his side, would she? In Brendel’s impression, the Silver Queen is certainly not such a dull person. Clearly, she fears that he would “give up in the face of difficulties,” leaving plenty of room in her defenses, almost to the point of excessive caution.
However, Brendel also realizes that his current doubts stem from having been forewarned by that mysterious witch, leading him to take precautions in advance.
Had he been completely unaware, he might have been glad about the manor’s simple defenses.
But since the Queen has gone to such lengths, Brendel also set aside his original thought of using his rules ability to teleport directly inside the villa; after all, every use of the rule points diminishes the amount available, so saving them is wise.
The villa’s door is not always tightly closed; maids and butlers come in and out from time to time, as if the heavily guarded manor is not truly watching over the Scepter of Fire, but rather the Countess Valarch. These ordinary people provide Brendel with an opportunity; at the moment when several maids call to open the door, they slip inside, and Charles doesn’t even cast any spells, while that supposed identification barrier seems blind, showing no reaction whatsoever.
In fact, this is precisely Charles’s elemental effect—spell disassembly—an upper-level manifestation of the anti-magic principle. As long as he can recognize the spell, he can disassemble the rule lines supporting it. This is an incredibly terrifying ability, transforming Charles into a veritable wizard slayer.
It is worth noting that rule wizards are known as nemeses of wizards, and with the ability to disassemble spells, Charles essentially secures an undefeated position in battles against other wizards of the same tier or even higher.
Once inside the villa, the defensive density drops sharply, which is logical; according to the “set-up,” the villa is where Xi lives, so how could there be such a situation of guards every three steps and sentinels every five? Is it to defend against intruders or to monitor the Countess?
Despite the decrease in defensive density, the layers of their strength have elevated significantly. Brendel has sensed elemental scouts superior to his level multiple times in the shadows, and by their distinctive breathing patterns, he can discern their identities.
He cannot mistake their identities, as they are all too familiar to him; they are even colleagues—Holy Knights.
Brendel also possesses the promotion of a Holy Knight, so he is very familiar with the unique breathing pattern cultivated through training in the Blood of Fire. It must be said that the Queen’s choice of these as internal defenders is indeed a masterstroke. Had she used Flame-touched Knights as the garrison here, it would have been too out of place, given that they are the secret force of the Sanctuary and rarely involve themselves in mundane affairs.
But if she continued to use palace guards, Brendel would have to question the intelligence of this Queen.
Avoiding the gaze of these Holy Knights, Brendel stealthily captured a tongue; the target was a maid, a mountain dweller, and this detail made Brendel silently marvel at the Queen’s skill in setting traps—although the external defenses were indeed rather deaf and blind.
This maid clearly didn’t know the inside information; she was startled half to death by the sudden appearance of Brendel and the others. Andrigraphis put a gleaming curved dagger against her pale neck, nearly scaring her unconscious.
After a series of timid exchanges, Brendel learns from her that the villa is divided into inner and outer areas; these maidservants can only operate in the outer zone, while the “Countess Valarch” resides in several rooms in the central area, rarely seen by outsiders—only a few fixed individuals, including Her Majesty the Queen, can see her.
This affirms Brendel’s suspicions; without a doubt, the one residing inside the villa is not Xi. He can be almost certain that within some room of the central area lies the Scepter of Fire, while the several “butlers” mentioned by the maid are likely the disguised Knights. He doesn’t know if they are the leaders of Holy Knights or the leaders of Flame-touched Knights, but there is a significant difference between the two.
Using Sleep spells to send the maid into a dreamless sleep, Charles turns back and asks, “What’s our next move?”
“Naturally, we follow the original plan,” Brendel projects a crude map using elemental magic’s water diagram based on the information previously provided by the maid. This map lacks details of the central area, but the periphery is still relatively clear.
He points at several corridors on the map and says to Charles and the others: “We’ll split up and enter the central area through these corridors. Our target has already been identified; after we finish, we’ll each break out and regroup outside the manor.”
Charles immediately nods, indicating his understanding.
Although the main purpose of this battle is to attract the Queen’s attention, they do not plan to foolishly carry out her arrangements; after all, this is clearly the Silver Queen’s designated main stage, and it would not be wise to engage with the Empire here.
Brendel has already resolved that this time he must make the Silver Queen suffer losses without gain.
The Scepter of Fire reacts to the soul of Odrefice, but Charles and Medephis do not possess the Flame Gem. His plan is to draw away a few knight commanders, then let Charles and the others steal the Scepter of Fire before regrouping outside the manor. By the time the Queen reacts, she’ll have no say over the battlefield.
Of course, there may be true experts stationed near the room where the Scepter of Fire is located, but in a three-on-one situation, even an ultimate existence would find it hard-pressed against Charles and the others. Don’t forget, aside from their primary roles, Charles, Medephis, and Andrigraphis are also traveling mages, so Brendel is extremely reassured about them.
After assigning the tasks, the three immediately take their leave.
Once the others leave, Brendel finds himself in a solitary state again; being a lone wolf fits the usual state he encountered back in the game, making it feel like he hasn’t acted alone since crossing into this world.
In his memory, there always seemed to be two subordinates with him, either the traveling mage’s card creatures or his senior sister, Nimesis, and Romaine.
“Well, it’s best I don’t forget my adventurer instincts,” Brendel shakes his head, a self-mocking smile on his lips.
Inside, something seems to be germinating; this long-dormant feeling makes him feel a surge of excitement—this is the factor of adventure; though it may have slept for long, it will never disappear. It can even be inherited through generations, awakening once an opportunity arises.
At this moment, Brendel even feels a strange illusion that he has returned to his peak, as if everything around him has reverted to the dungeons and instances of the game era.
Everything is within his grasp.
He walks deeper into the dim hallway. Although the maids in the villa do not see Xi’s face, they nonetheless interact with several of the “butlers.”
From that maid, one named Shernan is said to reside in the outermost room, usually the one issuing daily orders to them. Although it might occasionally be another butler, most of the time, it is this person who oversees the daily operations of the manor.
Additionally, she knows that the butlers like to gather in a small reception room on the first floor; according to other servants, that is the butlers’ lounge, also a forbidden area for the underlings.
From this information, Brendel can infer that the butler named Shernan—or rather, the knight—serves as the outward-facing leader among the several commanders and is likely also responsible for the peripheral defenses. That so-called lounge is probably the temporary command center for the knights and serves as the alarm center.
His target is precisely the former.
Brendel isn’t mistaken; the butler Shernan’s real name is Plidian, a Grand Knight of the Flame-touched Knights, with strength at the lower mid-range of the Truth side. Due to his primary role in logistics, he is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of the manor, and concurrently, he is in charge of the entire manor’s outer defense.
That evening, Plidian received early notice that the long-awaited enemy might appear tonight, so he did not retire as early as usual—being a diligent knight, Plidian has a very regular routine, falling asleep before the Serpent Star rises and waking before dawn.
He places his sword on the table, lights a candle, and sits quietly in a chair, waiting for the enemy’s arrival.
As for the outer defense, he has never really paid attention to it; due to the Queen’s requirements, he sees the perimeter’s vigilance as riddled with flaws, and he prefers not to bother with it, lest it proves bothersome to his eyes.
So every day when the Holy Knights report the patrol details to him, he simply turns a blind eye.
After all, it wouldn’t make a difference whether he hears it or not.
At this moment, however, he suddenly feels something is amiss.
After the twelfth breath of the two Holy Knights outside, a full twelve seconds have passed since, and while a person’s breath can be prolonged after physical enhancement, no one would hold their breath without reason.
Especially not two of them together.
Instinctively, Plidian reaches for his sword, but before he can, a dazzling black light bursts forth from the void.
It is the blade of the Sword of Earth—
……
(PS: Following reminders from readers, I found that there were two errors previously. One was that the Holy Archangel in Volume 4 Act 55 had already transformed into a spell card, the Avenging Angel, so there was a lapse in my description yesterday.
The second is that in Volume 5 Act 169, after Brendel was wounded and fainted by Bai, he reached the peak level on the side of Truth, while I had mistakenly written it as the pinnacle of the Elemental Realm in two places previously. I sincerely apologize for the oversight.
Now, these sections have been corrected, but due to intermittent breaks in the updates, my memory of some details can sometimes falter, leading to these bugs. Therefore, I hope everyone can kindly point out any bugs you find for me to correct. My QQ is 982407208; you can note that it’s about the book’s bug when adding me as a friend. Once again, I sincerely thank RelectantHero, QianNianDiHuangJing, and other kind book friends who helped me find these bugs, as well as those who helped summarize previous materials. Thank you very much.)
