Chapter 196: Act 129 – Reinforcements (Part 3)
The atmosphere in the forest suddenly became somewhat awkward.
As the Chief Court Wizard, Livwz naturally understood what had just happened, but for a moment, he was at a loss as to how to respond. The artifact had reacted, and with Martha present, this scholarly elder was left stunned; he never had imagined such things could occur. On the other hand, if the opponent truly was a dragon, even at such a young stage, it wouldn’t be something they could handle.
The problem was that Makarolo was still swinging his sword against the opponent’s spell shield—
Of course, they were not alone in this confusion; in fact, Brendel was also feeling a bit dazed. However, after some effort to sort out his thoughts, he was about to think of a way to scare these people off—after all, after resonating with the artifact, he was no longer in the mood to deal with them. He knew the real trouble did not lie with this group in front of him; with Alorze here, they could not hold him for long.
But the real big problem was that so many people must have recorded that massive magical reaction. Anyone with a normal brain would understand that something valuable must have surfaced in this area. He thought that within half a month, Rendener would likely be in chaos. The small mountainous hills were already teeming with adventurers from various places, including those wizards that no one would favor.
With Martha around, he shuddered at the thought of how chaotic it would be here at that time.
Brendel had considered more than once the circumstances under which he would influence the history of this world for the first time, but he never expected that this first time would come so quickly and so unexpectedly, leaving him no time to prepare. Thus, he was now less concerned about the Lionheart Sword; he was more worried about whether the treasures in the territory next to Rendener would also be affected—more importantly, would Princess’s subsequent actions also be impacted?
Could it be that the butterfly effect of history would flap its wings just once and change the entire course of history? This was certainly the worst scenario, and just thinking about it made Brendel break into a cold sweat.
But what did they say—if you want to avoid trouble, trouble will come knocking at your door.
Just as Brendel was contemplating this issue, the sound of clapping echoed abruptly through the forest. He immediately noticed Livwz and Makarolo staring blankly, their faces flashing a hint of surprise, “The newcomer is not here for good…” a thought flashed through Brendel’s mind. Turning around, he saw a middle-aged man wearing a thick purple coat lined with a white shirt stepping out of the forest.
The newcomer clapped his hands and said with a friendly smile, “Is this the Mister Brendel that the cunning fox spoke of? Indeed, heroes emerge from youth; this strategy is not something an average person could think of.”
“Elemental Enlightenment.”
Brendel’s eyelid twitched; he already recognized who this guy was. Dressed in a purple trench coat with a white silk shirt, wearing a face that concealed a knife behind a smile, was the Earl of the Violet Autonomous Region, Bal DanDane; this guy was the Grand Duke of Luun’s most capable aide. Compared to Bud, who later became a mere guard captain, this was the real big fish, projected to be around level eighty in about forty years.
Brendel had dealt with this person many times in past games and knew that while he appeared hypocritical, he was, in fact, one of the few upright and tough nobles. However, this man eventually died in the battle against the Druids, marking a significant loss for Erluin.
Seeing him, Brendel couldn’t help but curl the corner of his mouth, though his tone softened slightly, “Strategy?”
“Of course.”
Earl Bal replied, “As I understand it, dragons mostly act alone, right? At most, they will only act with their mates, isn’t that so?”
“This guy knows quite a bit about us.” Brendel immediately heard the voice of the dragon girl Alorze.
Brendel clicked his tongue, thinking that this guy was harder to deal with than he imagined; he hadn’t dealt with him before. Even though he still had time to bicker with Alorze, he couldn’t help but feel a bit anxious; Bal DanDane was not like Makarolo, Bud, or even Livwz. This guy was a pragmatic type and would never engage in idle threats without reason. The fact that he was here, calm and composed, in negotiations with him meant he had some tricks up his sleeve.
Moreover, even if it was just one more highly enlightened elemental master, the dynamics of the situation would become quite complicated—
After all, Alorze obviously appeared to be a loli. Although she held a racial advantage, facing two semi-enlightened elemental masters along with a gold-ranked Makarolo, this little dragon seemed to be on the verge of cracking under pressure!
He couldn’t help but glance around the forest and suddenly thought of another question:
“Bal DanDane is the most capable aide of the Grand Duke of Luun, but he is a power noble. With him here, the Duke of Lantonrand wouldn’t have brought his army here, would he?” Brendel carefully observed the scene and indeed saw shadows moving in the forest. Oh no, he couldn’t help but mutter inwardly; there seemed to be too many of them! Mobilizing troops to enter another lord’s territory openly, is the Grand Duke of Luun intent on going to war with Count Rendener?
But wait! Brendel immediately realized something was wrong; the Grand Duke was not just here to arrange the retrieval of his only son.
Understanding this, the young man’s mind lit up like a bolt of lightning, and he immediately thought of a small royal territory on the other side of Rendener’s border. Wasn’t that the princess’s private territory where the Cavalry Academy was located? Damn! The Druids were in for a significant shock this time. Duke Lantonrand was preparing to lay down the foundation while secretly advancing!
Due to his inexperience, Brendel hadn’t personally witnessed Erluin’s civil war back then, so while he was aware of the general process and outcome, he did not know the specific details. Now it seemed that the princess had already been gathering troops from all sides. No wonder she had stabilized the front line from the beginning; he thought the princess’s strength at the beginning allowed her to hold on for so long until the situation changed!
He looked at the cunning fox in front of him, knowing full well whose plan this was. Although this guy was somewhat despicable, his personal capabilities were indeed top-notch.
Brendel couldn’t help but cold sweat; fortunately, his luck was extraordinary; otherwise, he might have been played like a fool by this old fox.
Cursing under his breath, he quietly asked Alorze, “Miss Alorze, why didn’t you remind me earlier—”
He meant the army that had appeared behind.
“The magic reaction was so great that all their attention was drawn away. Besides, they are just some bugs; what’s there to worry about? Well, except for that slightly stronger one in front of you,” she replied.
“Bugs?” Brendel thought that was an entire army. From where he was, he could hardly tell how many there were; the number was at least over a thousand. Moreover, this was probably just a fraction. Bal was known for using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken; he openly admitted that his biggest hobby, aside from playing poker, was overpowering the weak with sheer numbers. Though it was just a joke, it spoke volumes about his personality. Adding in two semi-enlightened elemental masters, was little lady dragon really alright?
“Of course, just a mere inconvenience,” Alorze replied disdainfully.
Brendel didn’t believe that for a second; he thought, “What do you think I’ve never seen dragons before? Although I’m currently just an ordinary person, I had my glory days, and I’ve killed at least eighty dragons. I know exactly what level dragons should be at their various ages.”
Having figured this out, Brendel became cautious and waited to see what suggestions the esteemed Bal DanDane would have.
“So,” the Earl of Violets continued, “in fact, you’re not a dragon, are you?”
Huh?
Brendel thought, is that even possible? Although he was indeed not a dragon, that ancient spell was real!
“But his dragon spells…” Makarolo was stunned and also inquiring. But this time, Livwz interrupted him, “If I’m not mistaken, it should be a scroll effect, right? Since Mister Brendel can obtain the Golden Apple and acquire an artifact, obtaining a dragon language scroll should not be a difficult task.”
Hearing this answer, Brendel couldn’t help but twitch his mouth. He thought, “Livwz, you’re the Chief Court Wizard, how could you be so blind as to confuse dragon language spells with dragon language scrolls?” But then he froze; he clearly remembered that Livwz was not yet old enough to be making such basic errors. In fact, he wasn’t even at the peak of his abilities yet; logically, he shouldn’t be making such a mistake.
Unless there was another possibility.
It could only be another kind of possibility.
Brendel immediately gritted his teeth and asked in his heart, “Miss Alorze, the scroll you used…?”
He quickly got a positive response.
“Why?” he asked.
“Look, this way they dare to make a move on you, don’t you agree?” Alorze smiled lightly, looking very pleased as she said, “I haven’t had the chance to beat someone in a long time—”
Brendel sighed, acknowledging that she wasn’t wrong. But the issue was, they might not be able to win, young lady! Realizing this, he firmly decided that he couldn’t rely on this girl, so he took a deep breath, raised his head, and said, “Perhaps you are not wrong, Mr. Bal DanDane. However, you may certainly try to determine how many such spells I possess, right?”
Bal only smiled and shook his head, “It doesn’t matter how many scrolls you have; do you have the confidence to stand against us plus an entire army? Mister Brendel, this is not wise, so please hand over the Golden Apple—”
At that moment, Brendel wanted nothing more than to punch that guy in the face and smash that insincerely false smile of his. But just when he was trying to think of a way to counterattack, another group of people suddenly burst out of the forest—
In fact, it was the bushes to the east that rustled—
And then, in everyone’s field of vision, more than twenty armored, blood-soaked elven warriors appeared.
“Is that so? How about adding us into the mix then?”
Naminez removed his helmet and looked up with indifferent eyes at Earl Bal, responding in kind.
Golden tier, Silver Elves…
Livwz and Makarolo felt their eyelids twitch uncontrollably…
Bal DanDane was also taken aback, nearly choking on his words. How many years had it been since he had seen the Silver Elves? The Earl of Violet stared intensely at the twenty-plus beings, forcing out the words, “Silver Elves, former allies. You are the only race that did not join the later civil war. Are you suggesting today you too would go to war against humanity for this person?”
Naminez nodded, casting a glance at Brendel, “I owe him a promise.”
“Well,” Bal sighed, “but even so, do you truly think you can match the Grand Duke of Luun’s army with just twenty men? I admit you are the strongest warriors, but my subordinates—”
Yet he could quickly say no more.
In fact, it wasn’t just him; it seemed that suddenly, everyone present fell silent.
Because including Brendel, everyone saw a vast expanse of dazzling silver emerging from the forest, along with the elven knights mounted on divine unicorns…
The Holy Song Legion.
…(To be continued. For more information on the following events, please log in; there are more chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)
