Chapter 145: Act 78 – Beyond Control
Leidi and another person had already turned around and started sprinting, shouting towards the camp’s direction as they ran.
“Husher” immediately took off in pursuit.
As soon as he moved, his silhouette blended into the shadows like a continuous shadow amidst a dark forest; not swift, but quiet and adept in a way that was commendable, as if this mercenary was naturally a creature that dwelled in the darkness.
But Brendel turned his head, and from the dim forest behind him, the sound of chains dragging on the ground, “clang,” reached his ears.
“Blackfire cultists have discovered the commotion here—”
“We need to change our approach.”
He slightly furrowed his brow. Antinna and Romaine had already taken out their light crossbows from beneath their backpacks. The noble young lady was anxiously staring into the forest, and not to mention the other mercenaries, each had quietly drawn their weapons, ready for battle.
“Lord?”
Brendel shook his head. He had come to a decision—events were developing beyond his expectations, and he had to quickly turn the situation around. He reached into his bosom and when he pulled out, a luminous crystal was already in hand.
The crystal was instantaneously ignited—
Soft light blossomed from the young man’s hand.
“Lord?”
Antinna’s eyes widened as she couldn’t help but exclaim. “Brendel!” Romaine was also stunned.
Everyone’s attention in the darkness was drawn to this sudden burst of light. The soft glow quickly expanded before being hurled out. The glow traced an arc in the darkness.
The arc passed over a cluster of trees and fell into dense bushes. Even obstructed by layer upon layer of cover, the light that seeped through the bushes illuminated a small area nearby.
There stood three figures cloaked in black robes, their faces obscured by hoods. They obviously hadn’t anticipated being exposed and instinctively paused; but what made Antinna gasp involuntarily was the presence beside each of these three figures of terrifying creatures approximately half-person tall, with grayish-green skin, goat hooves, long horns and fangs. These creatures were connected by black chains from their ankles to the wrists of the Blackfire cultists and their bodies were covered with strange black patterns; these were the restraining powers born from pacts and incantations—undoubtedly, they were Jotungrund’s subterranean guests—the lowest-level bond demons.
“That high-level bond demon is in the opposite direction!” A Lubis mercenary immediately shouted out. They, as the epitome of the most legendary mercenaries, had certainly dealt with one of the most evil forces in the world. They were already well acquainted with these creatures’ habits.
But Brendel was even more familiar. As soon as he saw the three people, he raised his hand pointing toward another direction. The silver ring on his index finger gleamed as he immediately recited the incantation: “Oss!”
The airflow exploded forward in visible lines with a thunderous roar, trees around instantly snapped and toppled outward in an instant. All that stood in front of him disintegrated into powder without exception.
After the hurricane passed, the forest was nowhere to be seen, forming a wide corridor in front of Brendel. .
The mercenaries couldn’t help but look at him with awe. The noble young lady had already screamed in fright, covering her ears and crouching down. Only one voice echoed in her mind—He’s a wizard! He’s a wizard! This young knight is actually a wizard!
Romaine, however, was accustomed to such occurrences. The business lady turned her head, only to see Brendel’s figure flicker, instantly blurring before disappearing from its original spot—
Only the Lubis mercenaries were able to discern that in that moment, Brendel had at least increased his speed tenfold, leaving a continuous shadow on the corridor in an instant before vanishing.
“That was the charge skill of the Sun Knight!” exclaimed another mercenary from behind. But they weren’t the kind of mediocre third-rate mercenaries. As soon as the voice faded, someone drew out a long sword from the mercenaries and pointed it toward the direction the luminous crystal had fallen, giving orders: “I, the deputy captain Rocco, now take over the command. I now order you all to immediately attack those Blackfire cultists—”
“Comply.”
Eleven figures darted toward the three bewildered Blackfire cultists.
On the other side, the charge skill allowed Brendel to grab onto the Thorn Lord in an instant—a crimson demon standing together with its master, a man wearing a red-edged robe.
The Thorn Lord somewhat resembled a larger version of a crimson bond demon but possessed a pair of massive fleshy wings and two pairs of large horns, its image more akin to the classic depiction of demons from medieval legend stories.
In addition, countless thorny chains encircled its body.
However, this creature was clearly severely injured at the moment—missing not only an arm but also a wing. Brendel wasn’t surprised. The Queen Wind’s ring, though itself only a 10Oz equipment, had a force that was deadly against non-defense-based creatures of below level 30, hence why it was known as a minor artifact. In the past game, the only criticism it received was due to its excessively long cooldown time.
And in the demon race, save for a type of blade demon within the mid-level troops, there were practically no defense-based creatures.
Brendel glanced again at the man, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly. “Senior member of the Blackfire cult, eh.”
His figure made a turn mid-air, and he now held a long sword in his hand. It was different from his battle with Bud earlier; he was exerting no restraint at all this time. Although the high-level Blackfire cultist was only level 21, the Thorn Lord beside him was a genuine level 29 demon.
“White Crow Sword!”
Brendel’s sword swept downward from above, unleashing the force. A wind blade blossomed from the sword. The senior Blackfire cultist was still checking the injuries of his “bond demon,” completely unprepared for the enemy to arrive so fast. The instant he looked up, the transparent wave left by the sword had already pierced through his chest—
Brendel was no longer the frail young man from a month ago. A level 21 character was akin to a boss in his perception back then, yet now this Blackfire cultist could not withstand his full-strength attack.
The cultist let out an agonized scream, instantly flying backward with a gush of blood.
According to the rules of the game, once the signatory of a bond demon dies, the demon itself regains its freedom; however, the backlash of the bond’s power drives the bloodthirsty creature into an uncontrollable frenzy. And now, the situation facing Brendel was precisely this.
Before he landed, something metallic brushed just past his back—
“Sss…” Brendan felt a scorching pain from his back. “At least 20% faster, frenzied state, it seems the cultist is already dead.” This thought flashed through his mind as he realized he must’ve been shredded of a layer of flesh from behind, and could not help but curse inwardly.
As much as he cursed, Brendan acted promptly, grabbing the thorny chain in reverse with his hand, ignoring the piercing pain transmitted, and allowing himself to be flung directly toward the opponent using the force the demon was pulling with.
Though the Thorn Lord was an advanced breed among bond demons, it was artificially ‘created’ among Jotungrund’s demons, lacking a complete soul and, thus, intellect. Moreover, it had already entered a frenzied state and clearly didn’t anticipate that the motion of pulling its chain would bring a death deity to it.
Brendel merely utilized the force of the opponent’s pull, thrusting his sword forward, already driving the blade into the eye socket of the opponent. His movements were incredibly proficient, as if he had practiced this move hundreds of times.
In fact, he indeed practiced this move hundreds of thousands of times in the game.
Severely injured in the eyes, the Thorn Lord immediately let out an earsplitting howl as its low, roaring sounds quickly spread through the forest—
The young master furrowed his eyebrows, his feet skillfully landing on the shoulders of the monstrous creature while quickly flipping the sword to cut along the neck of the beast.
A spray of blue blood erupted as the howls of the advanced bond demon abruptly ceased, turning into a gargling sound before collapsing with a thunderous crash.
Brendel finally exhaled. He first reclaimed the experience, paying no heed to whether anything dropped – Blackfire cultists were famously broke, hence his reluctance to deal with these individuals. He raised his head and found that his subordinates had successfully subdued the other Blackfire cultists…
But that wasn’t the end. Because he had already noticed the commotion rising in the distant forest, from the direction of Gray Wolf Mercenary Camp, and the opposite direction.
“Damn it.” He cursed again, issuing a command to his summoned beings in his mind, “Prepare for retreat, carry those two.”
He looked down at the enormous crimson monster lying on the ground. It was breathing its last breath, but obviously wasn’t completely dead yet. Demons were notoriously resilient in games, they, along with undead beings and plant-type magical creatures, were considered the three most hated types of monsters by players. It occurred to Brendan that he was probably having an extremely unlucky streak…
He suddenly remembered all the things he had encountered since coming to this world—skeletons, gold magic trees, and these demons. It was like he had met all three of the ‘greats,’ not to mention his main rivals being Madara, which was obviously a group of skeletal undead beings.
Could this be a joke played on him by Martha from above?
The thought couldn’t help crossing his mind.
But it was right at this moment that a series of tiny greenish words suddenly projected onto Brendel’s retina:
“Target entity’s contract has ceased.”
“Target entity is in an extremely weakened state — ”
“Conditions met.”
“Would you like to sign a contract with me?”
“Yes/No.”
Brendel couldn’t help but hesitate at the sight of these instructions, then trembled slightly before shaking his head resolutely.
Absolutely not!
…
When Leidi and his companion were thrown to the ground, this white-haired young man defiantly lifted his head in his usual overbearing manner, defiantly glaring at everyone present. But upon seeing it was Brendel and his group, his pupils contracted slightly, and he struggled to stand up.
But ‘Husher’ pressed a hand on his shoulder from the back, with the other pressing on his neck. The oppressive force forced him to bend over, though he continued to gaze at Brendel with a pair of silver-gray eyes filled with ferocity – much like a tameless wolf.
He snarled as he struggled, “Of course it’s you, I knew you were no good— ugh, cough cough!”
But Brendel had no time for nonsense, delivering a swift punch to this guy’s face with such force that Leidi involuntarily twisted his head away and coughed out a mouthful of blood.
Antinna couldn’t help but draw in a breath softly.
Romaine blinked, thinking that Brendel indeed had his temper—just like the last time with Freya. Though that was still back in the Golden Tree Canyon.
However, she looked more concernedly at Brendel’s hand. The youth’s hands were drenched in blood from his previous battle with the Thorn Lord. The merchant lady had a slight pang of worry, yet she wanted to go and bandage his hand but Brendel didn’t let her touch—
The thorns on the Thorn Lord’s chains were toxic. Brendel, knowing his constitution was high and could withstand the toxins, decided against letting Little Romaine get into similar trouble—she didn’t have his defensive attributes. He didn’t want to inadvertently tag her with the “obsessive” label.
You see, the Thorn Lord’s venom damaged vitality.
Meanwhile, the white-haired young man quickly turned his head, his mouth full of blood, glaring at Brendel with sheer malice. Brendel also looked right back. The battle just now had drawn their attention—by now, the nearby forest was in complete chaos. If Brendel had not acted decisively, they might have been cornered there right now.
But even now, they weren’t necessarily safe yet.
That was why Brendel was so irritated.
“Our enemies aren’t you, and if you do not want to die, don’t move,” he coldly warned.
Leidi gritted his teeth in response. He realized by now that the group led by Brendel weren’t part of the people in the forest. However, he was still filled with resentment, thinking the guy was settling personal scores when he gave that punch before explaining – it was clearly a lesson.
Still, despite this, he instinctively believed Brendel was only exaggerating. Others may not know, but he did. The “Gray Wolf” mercenary group wasn’t just any mercenary group. Perhaps others felt uneasy about possibly having to face off against the “Playing Cards” mercenary group, but he didn’t worry. It was merely unexpected that those bastards dared to take the initiative.
Leidi spat in his mind, thinking this bumpkin was making a fuss about nothing. With that thought in mind, he lifted his head and looked contemptuously at Brendel.
Brendel then turned to another person and paused, for it was a girl.
She had her eyes closed, her black hair framing a pale face under the moonlight. But what surprised Brendel was that even in such circumstances, the girl did not appear flustered at all.
Who was she?
This thought flickered in his mind. However, at that moment, ‘Husher’ already asked on the side, “They are Blackfire cultists, Lord, what shall we do next?”
“Blackfire cultists?” Leidi’s heart skipped a beat.
Brendel glanced at the northern hill briefly, lowering his eyelids to answer, “We will go east.”
The white-haired young man couldn’t help but chuckle softly. He had some knowledge from a noble military family. Thinking that since the people from the “Playing Cards” mercenary group were already this close, the scouts stationed on the northern hill by the captain must have been dealt with; meaning the southern side was clearly safer.
This guy was obviously a novice, but insisted on acting knowledgeable. He sneered inwardly, feeling sorry for the skilled mercenaries under him. Leidi clearly treated Brendel as a spoiled aristocrat, but before ‘Husher’ acted earlier, he had no time to react and fell victim, leaving an extremely deep impression on this young man.
However, he still worried about the situation with the ‘Blackfire cultists.’ He sneakily glanced at the mercenary accompanying Brendel, thinking the other party shouldn’t be lying.
He wanted to fish for information from his companion but realized that getting it from this novice would be more effective. With this thought, he stole another glance at Brendel.
But clearly different from Leidi’s perception, ‘Husher’ was intrigued by Brendel’s words: “Lord, you’ve dealt with the Blackfire cultists?”
“More or less.” Brendel casually replied, mentally adding, “In the game—”
“Uh?” ‘Husher’s’ eyes lit up: “Higher-level Priest Circle?”
“Haha… cough cough… hahaha, why not claim you’ve met the Twelve Patriarchs of the Treemen,” Leidi couldn’t help but sneer upon hearing this: “A Blackfire cultist priest, at the very least needs to be of Silver rank; and if I’m not mistaken, even Eruluin’s royal guards wouldn’t dare say they could defeat their higher-level priest circle. May I ask which army this gentleman has been in to meet them?”
He concluded, looking with disdain at Brendel: “If you want to boast, get your facts straight. This is quite amusing. Also, if you insist on going south, release me. I don’t want to go to my death with you.”
What a defiant and obstinate fellow.
After hearing his mockery, though Brendel couldn’t help but laugh and feel indignant, he thought that he had not only seen one of the Twelve Patriarchs before but had even eliminated one. He doubted this person would believe even if he said it. Moreover, what were the Twelve Patriarchs when he was at the peak of his power? His strength could rival the divine knights, or to put it simply, there were probably only one or two people in the vast organizations of the Treemen and the Everything Returns Society who could rival him.
After all, players in any game would only grow stronger.
But Brendel had no mood to explain all this to the guy. He bared his white teeth and smiled dangerously at Leidi, asking, “Looks like you still don’t quite understand your position, do you?”
Leidi choked, realizing he had no right to speak, whether or not this person was blustering. He coldly huffed and decided not to respond any further.
However, Brendel did not care if he kept silent and turned to ask, “Who are you?” This time, he was looking at the girl.
Leidi glanced here, then turned his head to the side.
“I’m Yula, Sir Knight,” the young girl spoke for herself.
“You know I’m not a merchant?” Brendel was surprised.
“I know more. I know our mercenary group is in grave danger now and Sir, you can help us, am I right?” The girl affirmed with a nod, and then continued her question.
“Yula?” It was the white-haired young man’s turn to be shocked: “They are just—”
“Who’s on the other side?” Yula asked instead.
Brendel’s curiosity was truly aroused this time. He couldn’t resist giving the girl a second look. “How did you know?”
(PS. Although there was only one chapter, the volume is quite substantial—5300 words.
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