Chapter 1040: Act 212 – Dawn’s Flame XIII
Pridian’s figure moved, and Brendel immediately realized that his opponent’s strength was above the side of Truth; the Knight Commander of the Sanctuary Knights definitely did not possess this level of power. Therefore, the only possibility for his opponent’s identity was that of the Flame Devoted Knight.
The battle above the elements shook the heavens and the earth. Brendel did not wish to raze this manor to the ground at this moment, so he knew this battle had to be quick; he must end it before the other could react.
Unfortunately, a maid would never have the opportunity to know what elements her “butler” possessed; otherwise, this fight would have been much simpler.
With a swing of his sword, Brendel unleashed his full power, but almost all of his strength was restrained within the sword itself, so its effect on the surrounding environment was minimal. In battles above the elements, where Golden and Silver tiers were concerned, the gusts raised by both sides when they made their move often extended over several dozen meters. However, above the elements, combat became much more restrained.
This was due to the extent of control over power.
Of course, when two elemental masters fought to the death, that was an entirely different concept, and the area of effect they generated was absolutely unimaginable in the Golden and Silver domains. While claiming that a sword could devastate dozens of miles was an exaggeration, decimating several miles was indeed without any issue.
And above the extreme realms, battles displayed another scene altogether. Once the Plains of Extremity unfolded, it might not affect the primary material world at all, but it could just as easily result in cataclysms.
Facing Brendel’s full-force strike, Pridian instinctively rolled aside. The Sword of the Earth sliced into the writing desk as effortlessly as cutting through tofu, cleaving it in two.
A delicate silver light, resembling fish scales, shimmered over the surface of the desk, and then the whole desk crumbled away like weathered stone, disintegrating into the void of space.
This was the lethality generated by multiple space quakes. The Flame Devoted Knight’s sword was indeed a rather formidable magical weapon, as it did not perish in the spatial turbulence but instead fell from the vanishing surface of the desk.
Pridian believed he had evaded the blow. He fell to the ground, twisting his body, intending to grasp his fallen sword from mid-air.
However, he witnessed a scene he would never forget.
He found himself sitting at the location where the writing desk had previously existed, and the black sword in his opponent’s hand was thrusting towards his chest.
What was this?
Forcefully altering causality?
There was no such sword technique in this world; it could only be the power of the elements. Pridian quickly understood; he realized he had encountered a major problem. Any element involving time and causality was absolutely among the top elements in this world. Fortunately, his own element was not simple either.
Since he could not evade, he had to strike first.
Brendel noticed silver lines of laws suddenly emerging around the Flame Devoted Knight; he understood that the opponent was using elemental power. He immediately became alert; none of the Knight Commanders of the Flame Devoted Knights were simple, and their elements were certainly extremely tricky.
Moreover, even the most common elements were usually not easy to handle.
Without warning, Brendel saw the life point indicator on his attribute panel suddenly drop by more than half, then he felt blackness before his eyes as a searing pain surged through his entire body.
“Damn, fluid phase change,” Brendel cursed inwardly. This person was likely a successor of the Falcon Knight under the Flame King.
He hadn’t expected such bad luck, encountering one of the toughest inheritances among the Flame Devoted Knights right away. Although this element was of low grade and its abilities were relatively straightforward, its lethality was exceptionally strong. Before players found methods to counter it, this element had once been called an official cheat.
A mist of blood rose from Brendel’s body; it was the steam of his evaporated blood. He endured the excruciating pain and thrust his sword through the mist toward the chest of the Flame Devoted Knight.
“You’re not dead!?” the knight exclaimed, as the Sword of the Earth’s blade pierced effortlessly between his second and sixth ribs, blood gushing forth, drowning his tongue and white teeth, cascading down his chin like a waterfall.
Blood dripped onto the carpet, and until death, the Flame Devoted Knight stared wide-eyed at Brendel, appearing unable to close his eyes.
Brendel drew back the Sword of the Earth. The blood on the sword gathered into droplets that slid off the blade, almost like wax, but this was actually an expression of spatial laws.
“Dimwit, that element was still useful thirty years ago,” Brendel blurted, then paused, remembering this was not a game.
In this era, one could indeed say this element was invincible; it was merely unfortunate for that knight.
Many players, including most elemental masters of this age, preferred to distribute law lines in an external range of one to five meters to counter opponents’ elemental powers. This was the most effective method of applying laws.
However, the rules of fluid phase change worked from the inside out; it evaporated blood starting from the interior. Many players initially did not understand this, mistakenly believing this element could penetrate law defenses.
In reality, countering it was quite simple: just arrange a layer of law lines over the heart.
And that was precisely what Brendel had done.
Although Brendel had never faced a fluid phase change opponent before and had hardly even encountered law clashes, the habits from his previous life acted like instinct—he didn’t need to consciously pay attention.
It proved to be lifesaving.
Yet Brendel suddenly thought that even had he not done this, it was unlikely this fellow could have killed him because he still had a “Surging Heart” within him.
That thing was unaffected by the laws of fluid phase change.
“Everyone has their unlucky days,” Brendel sighed, placing his hand over the knight’s eyelids. “So rest in peace.”
He turned back to pick up the knight’s fallen sword. This sword had remained intact despite his spatial turbulence, indicating it was certainly not an ordinary item.
He opened his panel to see, indeed:
Absolute Death
【Gold】
Attack 27-33
+14 Strength
+22 Agility
Additional Skills:
Parting Words: Deal damage three times to an enemy, killing him.
Last Gift: It is the Lingsong of Aiven, a glass blade, thus unaffected by character attribute boosts.
…
Five swords lay atop the table, their tips facing each other, forming a radiating shape.
Five knights sat across from each other, their red capes and white armor contrasting sharply.
Unlike Pridian, the five knights had long anticipated a fierce battle tonight; they did not need to maintain the manor’s daily operations, so they donned their armor early.
All the armor had been blessed by the Temple of Fire, forged by the hands of the most renowned artisan masters to create the top-tier magical armor.
The armors were embossed with golden flame patterns—each pattern could trigger an instant spell.
Had Pridian been wearing his knight’s armor, he might not have easily lost to Brendel. However, in reality, there were no “ifs.” The armor of the Flame Devoted Knights required a series of ceremonial prayers before being donned, and its wearer needed to meditate and pray a day in advance; as a maintainer of the manor’s daily operations, he had no conditions to choose.
Suddenly, one knight abruptly raised his head, triggering a chain reaction, as his companions also turned their gazes toward him.
The knight extended his right hand, revealing six purple gemstones in his palm, one of which had already shattered into powder.
“Pridian is in trouble.”
“Should we raise the alarm?”
“What about the Staff of Fire? Any reaction?”
The knight looked at the one who spoke.
However, everyone understood there was none—
“Then we can’t raise the alarm.”
The knight commanded the others: “There’s an intruder; you all head out to assist. I will remain here.”
The four knights immediately seized their weapons and stood up, following orders.
This was precisely as Brendel had suspected; it was a temporary command post for the Flame Devoted Knights, as well as the alarm center. The persistent alarm magic here could warn the Flame Devoted Knights stationed outside. As soon as the Staff of Fire reacted, a net would be cast outside the manor.
As soon as the four knights had left, the space in the hall rippled, and Charles appeared amid the waves.
The remaining Flame Devoted Knight noticed the unwanted guest right away. He raised his hand, and the sword on the table seemed to come alive, directly falling into his grasp. Without any further ado, the sword light flickered, and a dazzling brilliance flashed before Charles.
At the same time, the Flame Devoted Knight rolled back instead of pursuing, aiming his hand at the red gemstone on the low table by the sofa.
He sensed his opponent’s strength right away.
Just an elemental pinnacle.
But the opponent was a wizard, a rare group; among them, those with the potential to reach the elemental peak were even rarer. But undoubtedly, once they became archmages, they would be the toughest opponents of their tier.
The Flame Devoted Knight could not assure himself that he would definitely win against the opponent, so he had to focus on completing his mission.
However, his hand heavily slapped down on that gemstone, and to his shock, the red gemstone shattered into countless crystal fragments beneath his tumultuous gaze.
“What… what is happening?”
He could hardly believe his eyes. This gemstone, though not incredibly sturdy, was still a magical item; how could it break so easily?
He instinctively lifted his head, only to be horrified by the sight of various magical arrays arranged throughout the room’s ceiling, floor, and walls losing their color at an alarming rate.
The mysterious characters written with magical ink turned gray and then into powder, their inherent abilities vanishing into thin air.
As if in the blink of an eye, all alarm systems in the villa had completely collapsed.
After losing his last means, the Flame Devoted Knight calmed down instead, his face pale as he looked at the young wizard opposite him.
He knew that the magical arrays had been arranged by the most elite court wizards of the imperial capital, not lacking even a single archmage from the side of Truth; even the great mage Ruyer, who had once taught the Silver Queen, had participated in designing this system.
He was one of the three extreme wizards within the empire—an unparalleled mirror mage.
This young wizard was no simple character.
But he still had a chance to turn the tides.
At this moment, Charles had already cast a spell to nullify the opponent’s attack; he raised a hand, and a silence barrier enveloped the entire parlor.
He certainly understood what the Flame Devoted Knight intended; he wanted to use a significant battle to alert everyone.
But he would not grant him that opportunity.
…
Brendel examined the sword in his hand, then sheathed it. He had just experimented a little; this sword was too fragile and difficult to break defenses. Although its attributes appeared frightening, he couldn’t immediately think of how to use it.
The only feasible method seemed to be using the Sword of the Earth to break through defenses first, and then use this sword to attack the wound; however, it seemed unnecessary to do so against most enemies. This sword was particularly useful against bulky, high-health bosses.
He put away the sword. At that moment, five minutes had just passed; the Flame Devoted Knights would undoubtedly detect something, otherwise, wouldn’t they be picked off one by one without realization?
He did not believe the empire’s strength would be so inadequate as not to provide the Flame Devoted Knights with basic configurations.
What he needed to do was to delay the subsequent reinforcements, buying as much time as possible for Charles, Medephis, and Andrigraphis to relieve the pressure.
The candlelight in the room flickered.
Brendel’s eyelids also jumped; he felt the spatial lines he extended tremble four times in quick succession—four people. Brendel’s heart sank. In his ideal scenario, he would face three people while Charles, Medephis, and Andrigraphis dealt with the remaining two. He hadn’t expected his opponents to think so highly of him as to come out in full force.
This was not going to be fun.
After all, they were Flame Devoted Knights, inheritors of the 120 knights under the Flame King. Their combat experience and standards far surpassed ordinary elemental masters, and they often wielded extremely troublesome elements.
Just like the one he had previously dispatched; despite appearing pathetic in death, that was only because he had the advantage of foresight. Otherwise, a typical person would probably have died immediately under the fluid phase change.
And the Flame Devoted Knight fell because he hadn’t considered this point, losing his life to Brendel’s hands. Normally, although Brendel had absolute confidence in defeating them, achieving a one-hit kill was unlikely.
Moreover, the Flame Devoted Knights likely possessed their own exclusive armor; depending on the enhancement of this armor, their combat power could rise significantly.
Brendel immediately realized he couldn’t fight this battle as it was; otherwise, even if he won, it would only be a pyrrhic victory, and there were more enemies outside. He could not afford to waste energy here.
He took a step back, and hundreds of energy levels erupted in an instant; the wall behind him collapsed with a thunderous crash upon impact.
Behind the wall was a small hall, where several maids were busily engaged. They were evidently terrified by the sudden appearance of Brendel, screaming, and then turning to flee.
Brendel didn’t glance at them; he had prepared himself to be discovered. After all, engaging with four Flame Devoted Knights without alerting anyone was utterly unrealistic. By now, the villa’s alarm magic had likely become ineffective. Even if those maids notified the outside, the empire would require at least ten to fifteen minutes to react.
That meant this was the time they had left.
Essentially sufficient.
“Charles, I’ll give you twelve minutes. Twelve minutes later, regardless of success or failure, we must retreat immediately.”
“Understood, Lord.”
The telepathic response from Charles and the others echoed back.
