Chapter 1043: Act 215 – Flames of Dawn XVI
A quarter of an hour ago, at the Cold Dew Manor—
The explosion ignited the entire mountain in an instant, lighting up the forests near the manor. In the glow of the fire, the Imperial Guards fell in droves, unable to mount a defense. Brendel leapt from the open area of the square, vaulting over the wrought-iron fence of the manor, and then landed within the forest, followed closely by his sister and brother, both of whom landed safely.
Charles flew in the air, bringing up the rear. As he exited the manor’s boundary, he threw out a force field wave behind him. The invisible ripple, stretching nearly a kilometer, surged forth, and upon touching the outer wall of the manor, it shattered it to pieces. The iron railings curled and broke, emitting a piercing wail, while the solid ground beneath was upheaved, forming ripples like water, as the soil could not withstand the surface tension. It cracked open several gaping holes wide enough to block the pursuing city patrols.
Once they entered the forest, the lights of the Crown District below became clearly visible through the tree shadows. The stacked buildings in the Earl of Shevov district were only a river apart.
However, the path was not easy. As soon as Brendel touched down, he noticed more than ten Flames of Dawn Knights emerging from the woods.
The leader, adorned with a white wolf’s mane, was the successor of Hilman the Wolf Knight. The wolf’s mane on his shoulder was a trophy from the battle in the Homan Valley, but the original had long been lost when the thirteenth-generation knight died; this was merely a counterfeit, and not even the first generation of counterfeit.
The essence of the Wolf Knights was bloodthirst. Once blood was drawn—be it their own or the enemy’s—their combat power would increase exponentially. Hilman’s successor had inherited this essence; he strode confidently toward Brendel, launching a sword strike. In his view, Brendel was merely at the pinnacle of Truth, and defeating him would be easy after a brief exchange, especially with several companions at his back.
This was also the first time in the history of the Flames of Dawn Knights that so many had mobilized—140 Knights, nearly half of whom were lying in ambush here, filled with an overwhelming confidence and pride. No one believed that anyone in the world could challenge half of the Flames of Dawn Order.
The Knight struck, his blade slashing down against the spine of the Earth Sword—what a swift sword! he thought; this person must be a Sword Saint.
But the opponent suddenly stepped back, leaving a perfectly identical illusion in place that blocked his sword, then raised the sword parallel to him for a thrust.
This thrust appeared unremarkable, yet it struck terror into Hilman’s successor.
This thrust was named the Nine Days of Queen Wind.
Brendel, centered on the successor of the Wolf Knight, shifted three times in quick succession, each time stepping away from his original position and leaving behind an illusion that attacked the opponent from different angles and with different sword techniques.
Four illusions and Brendel’s true form struck almost simultaneously. Hilman’s successor managed to parry three strikes with all his might, and then thrust his sword through the throat of one of the illusions.
However, at that very moment, a cold gleam flashed, and his head was sent flying high into the air, his severed neck spraying blood like a firework.
Brendel’s gaze was as cold as ice, his shirt splattered with blood. He casually pushed the headless corpse of Hilman’s successor against a tree, his expression unchanging, as he continued toward the next Flame of Dawn Knight.
The next Knight was already stunned. This was not due to poor psychological resilience, for every Flame of Dawn Knight carried a millennia of memory, possessing combat instincts and experiences beyond the reach of ordinary people. Moreover, those who earned the “Favor of Flame” inheritance were among the elite of this era.
During the Age of the Saints, the knights surrounding King Gilt had survived the most brutal of battles; those who lived were intimately familiar with death, both of comrades and enemies, and could maintain their cool even in the most bizarre circumstances.
Yet, this was a millennium later. The experiences of the current era’s Flames of Dawn Knights made it difficult for them to measure up to the first-generation predecessors. They held unparalleled battlefield experience but lacked the emotional detachment required to see through life and death.
As a result, this Knight stood momentarily stunned, and by the time he reacted, the demon-like Brendel had already appeared before him, drenched in blood.
He suddenly realized he had made a fatal mistake. At the last moment, he raised his sword to meet the threat, but Brendel merely stepped forward, and the heavy black blade of the Earth Sword cleaved him and his sword alike.
In the instant before the world plunged into darkness, regret filled the Knight’s heart; however, regret could not change his fate.
The second one struck, and everyone present involuntarily fell into a moment of daze.
Was this truly the battle of the Flames of Dawn Knights?
Brendel pressed on; his next opponent was a gaunt middle-aged man with ruggedly handsome features, a noble’s cape adorned with white feathers marking him as a knight commander. Brendel immediately recognized him—Steve, the Flawless Spear.
There were only seven Knight Commanders among the Flames of Dawn Knights, none of whom were nameless. The man before him possessed the power of the Realm of Laws, comparable to Veronika when she fought with the Loop of Trade Winds.
He was one of the seven strongest knights beside the King of Flame, embodying the Element of Indestructibility—a rare element without an active effect, granting ninety percent damage immunity.
Two great knights flanked him, the Dragon Knight Samuel and the Light Knight Robin, both also at the peak of the Truth.
Clearly, the knights present began to recognize Brendel’s threat. Those below the upper tier of Truth moved to avoid him, engaging with Charles and the vampire twins instead.
At this moment, Charles faced two opponents—one embodying the Earth element and the other the Fantasy element—while Medephis and Andrigraphis were contending with three opponents led by the Steel Knight’s inheritance.
Seeing this scene, Brendel understood he had to finish the battle quickly. The other Flames of Dawn Knights arriving from other directions, although momentarily delayed, were not Imperial Guards and would catch up soon.
He extended his left hand, and another sword appeared in it.
“Absolute Death!”
The Flames of Dawn Knights shouted in anger, soon realizing their comrades in the manor might already have fallen victim. They felt a mix of fury and disdain—disdain that Brendel dared to use this sword in their presence, yet they were all too aware of the sword’s flaws.
Steve was also filled with rage, having viewed Pridian as a promising newcomer. He raised his long-time signature spear, the Blame, with a heart already sentencing Brendel to death. Although Her Majesty had ordered them to take prisoners alive, it merely meant surviving.
At that moment, however, Brendel cared little for his adversary’s thoughts; he drew Absolute Death not to provoke them.
But for—
“Frost Earth!”
With his bellow, glaciers formed out of thin air, sharp ice shards exploding in all directions, like an ice waterfall instantly enveloping nearly a thousand meters of space.
An icy wind mixed with elemental power rushed toward them. Even Steve dared not confront its edge directly, and he and several Flames of Dawn Knights ascended into the air. Yet, two of them were struck by intersecting ice pillars, hurtling into the forest alongside the rushing glaciers, leaving behind a path of withering trees and frostbitten leaves, which snapped.
Steve shattered an ice shard veering toward him with a punch, turning it into countless fragments, and finally spotted Brendel hiding among the intersecting ice pillars, thrusting his spear toward him.
At that very moment, including the two great knights, several Flames of Dawn Knights who had avoided the attacks of the ice pillars simultaneously struck at Brendel.
But in that instant, Brendel suddenly raised his head. In Steve’s eyes, he saw a reckless fervor, and for some reason, he was suddenly filled with alertness—this sense of dread mirrored moments he had experienced in the Saint Wars when faced with life and death.
It was a fear of the signs of impending death.
He had unwavering confidence in his premonition. His heart sounded alarm bells: “Fall back, retreat quickly!” he shouted, but he couldn’t halt his assault, and the Blame inevitably struck Brendel.
Along with four long swords.
The spear thrust toward Brendel’s body. He wore only an earl’s coat, which tore aside easily, revealing a formidable golden-gray inner armor underneath; its defense was astonishing. The sharp blade of the Blame could not harm it at all, and a burst of silver light deflected off the armor, finally piercing into Brendel’s shoulder blade.
Yet the resulting feeling of the spear piercing through him also did not manifest. Steve felt as if he’d struck metal stone—this sensation was reminiscent of encounters with the few elite knights of the Sanctuary.
Even stronger.
He turned his head and almost had his eyes pop out; the other Flames of Dawn Knights found their long swords unable to even approach Brendel’s body. A faint layer of radiance blocked their blades, causing them to spark upon impact even when merely a foot away.
Conflict Aura!
Expressions of horror emerged simultaneously on the faces of the Knights: This guy is a Sanctuary Knight!
However, what made Sanctuary Knights troublesome was not their Conflict Aura, but the Crown of Thorns and Blood of the Sun.
The several Knights immediately realized they were in deep trouble. At that moment, a white light suddenly radiated from Brendel, resembling thorns of a rose, shooting out toward all who had struck at him.
While Brendel’s defense absorbed nearly all damage, the reflection of the Blood of the Sun did not work like that; even Steven’s attack, reduced to the upper Truth side by the ‘Gate of Laws’, was counteracted.
But this was utterly unreasonable—
Several Flames of Dawn Knights let out shrill screams, with only Steve faring a little better; the Indestructibility element reduced his damage to a minimum. However, the ominous feeling in his heart did not dissipate, as it was now Brendel’s turn to strike.
Brendel extended his Earth Sword toward these individuals.
“Chilling Wind—”
At that moment, time could be described as moving very slowly, almost as if nearing a standstill for those directly facing this scene, which felt eternal.
But it could also be said to move quickly, for from the perspective of bystanders, it was merely an instant’s flash—they saw a fierce storm bursting forth from Brendel’s back.
What a wind it was! It was like a blade; everywhere it passed was plowed through. Trees and rocks turned into ice crystals, instantly breaking and shattering into flying fragments.
But that was just the beginning—
Then it grew, expanding to such an extent that it could not be described in words, evoking the legendary world of ‘Immortality’ atop the mountain known to halt storms.
That was a perfect storm occupying the entire plane of wind elements.
It was not merely wind, but a divine sword of judgment, colliding directly with the mountaintop where Cold Dew Manor stood. Everyone bore witness to this unforgettable sight:
The entire mountain swelled and then shattered with a thunderous roar, rocks and trees screaming as they were launched into the air, the peak fracturing and breaking apart into dust, torrents of earth and stone cascading down.
Even until half a minute later, smaller stones and gravel continued to fall from the sky.
This was the power of the extreme realm.
Brendel himself was dumbfounded, lifting his head.
He saw, in the night sky, that the Cold Dew Manor, located halfway up the mountain, had lost half its peak entirely, revealing a horrifying void where the earth had entirely vanished, exposing the pale, jagged glint of the rocks beneath.
A round moon emerged from the void, illuminating the entire forest.
What happened?
He remembered activating his frenzied talent and fully unleashing the powers of Frost Earth Guardian. However, the combination of Frost Earth and Chilling Wind, while incredible, shouldn’t have resulted in this magnitude.
Even with Sibers’s full-force strike, it could not reach such levels.
“Lord, are you alright?” Medephis, having just taken down an opponent, turned mid-air with a concerned look.
Brendel shook his head; he felt layers of illusions before his eyes. He saw reflections of the towering white spires and spiraling peaks, billions of lines of laws converging on a silver plain, seeds of light being nurtured in the abyssal waters.
He glimpsed the newly born realm of elements, with shallow seas resembling dreams, the mountain of stillness looming in the clouds beneath the dark stone hub, hot rivers flowing with roiling currents.
These visions flickered, yet there seemed to be a voice within urging him.
“I am born of flames—”
At this moment, he sensed the truth realm within him shifting; a barrier that had lain in the way was opening its door at last.
Not just him, but everyone present felt this tremor.
Everyone involuntarily turned around, and Steve, wobbling as he rose from the ground, looked at Brendel in disbelief— the extreme power did not kill the commander of the Flames of Dawn Knights with a single strike, let alone when he bore the Indestructibility element.
Of course, even so, he was gravely injured, and the Flames of Dawn Knights fighting beside him had long since vanished.
The pinnacle of laws—
This young Earl of Toniger was barely over twenty.
The scene was difficult not to evoke thoughts of another, also at twenty, standing atop the White Tower.
About 1,070 years ago, he wore a crown called King of Flame.
Yet at this very moment, Brendel’s thoughts were no longer on this.
For he knew he was in trouble.
In that instant—
Five vast pressures descended from the sky, and Brendel immediately felt himself locked by these forces. His body felt heavy, as if shackled with many chains.
Meanwhile, Charles, Medephis, and Andrigraphis, battling in the air with the Flames of Dawn Knights, grunted and crashed heavily to the ground.
Brendel looked up to see the starry night sky, seemingly displaying several dazzling constellations.
These were familiar names and titles he once knew or had heard, bearers of names that shimmered through history, powerful figures who had once inspired admiration among players.
They were the Grand Commander of the Flames of Dawn Knights, Richard of the Empire’s Gate.
The greatest wizard of the Empire from seventy years prior, Lord of the Mirror Realm, No Light’s Return, Ruyer, and his lifelong rival, a sorcerer revered in folklore as god-like, the Tower Breaker Siban.
And the mightiest among the eleven holy seats, excluding Varla and Sidney, the Sword Holder Bradley.
Lastly was Willerk, one of the twin pillars of the Empire sixty years ago, the Sword Saint of the Lion.
Five extremes.
Almost half of the Empire’s thirteen supreme masters were present.
The oppressive atmosphere from the sky was like a pit or a prison.
