Chapter 230: Act 163 – The War of the Traveling Mage (6) (Second Update, Subscription Requested)
“Mr. Tyamas!”
Count Grudin was startled by Bai’s words, his face turning pale. The only thing he could rely on now was the undead general from Madara. If the opponent couldn’t protect him, that barbaric young viscount would likely end him with one sword strike.
But Bai ignored him and continued, “I’m confident I can hold for half an hour.”
“Half an hour?” Brendel seized on the key point of his words like a true rival. “What does half an hour matter? Or are you deliberately stalling me for half an hour for a reason?”
“If you weren’t my enemy, I would truly wonder if you were a close friend of mine from my past,” Bai sighed, “Why do you always seem to understand me so well? Even Marisa doesn’t know me like you do.”
Brendel just smiled.
He knew that Marisa was actually Bai’s personal maid, and this bastard’s words were just a roundabout way to belittle him. However, he wasn’t willing to show any weakness, which fit his understanding of this guy; proud and arrogant enough to refuse to admit defeat verbally even after losing, he had offended many people in Madara and was relegated to this ragtag army of Instalung.
But while he thought this, he didn’t hold back. He continued forward, just ten meters away from Bai. At the same time, Charles prepared spells behind him.
“Mr. Viscount,” Bai spoke. “Have you not considered why you haven’t received signals from the west gate?”
Brendel paused, suddenly realizing something, and his face darkened.
“Ah, I remember it was a beautiful red-haired mercenary lady, wasn’t it?” the undead knight replied. “But you need not worry, my lord. I have very few people on hand, which shouldn’t pose a significant problem for them. However, I must inform you—my people sent to intercept them should be able to delay for some time.”
Brendel remained silent.
Bai continued, “By now, it’s likely that my kind have already breached the west gate. Of course, they are just dirty, low-level bone frames without command, and you know I don’t really trust those lower-tier necromancers. But Mr. Viscount, if you don’t turn back to rectify this situation immediately—don’t speak of the life of that beautiful lady; the entire battle situation could become quite troublesome, wouldn’t it?”
The young man listened to this nonsense, taking a deep breath to suppress his urge to punch Bai in the face. All he wanted was for that ravenous mouth to be silenced. But despite his anger, he clearly understood that Bai had no reason to lie—
In fact, he had been worried about the situation to the west, for just as Bai had said, he had been waiting for a magical beacon from the mercenary captain named Juliette but had yet to receive any. If the situation were as dire as Bai claimed, it was not just troublesome; it was extremely dangerous.
Not to mention the losses to Firburh caused by the undead pouring in, but it had also cut off their escape routes. The inner city walls were low, unable to withstand the onslaught of the skeleton army. And if the enemy took advantage and breached the inner city—
Brendel couldn’t help but feel his heart sink.
He hadn’t expected Bai to dare to divide their forces at such a time; he wondered if Bai truly cared about Grudin’s life or death. If he didn’t care, then his actions seemed inconsistent. But if he did care, this plan resembled that of a madman.
Unless he had intended to take Grudin with him all along.
But was that necessary?
Grudin was just one of Earl Rendener’s sons, and not even the eldest—
Brendel couldn’t help but take a deep breath. Tyamas’s blow struck at his core. He finally understood Bai’s intention to delay. The only silver lining was that he had remained vigilant, preventing Bai’s scheme from succeeding—at least he still had options.
“Damn it, no wonder it’s the scale of war—” Brendel cursed under his breath. This was the first time during the era of the Black Rose War that Bai exhibited wisdom and foresight that rivaled the future. Brendel even felt a sense of illusion that perhaps Bai had already guessed what he was plotting.
Brendel tightened his grip on the sword hilt. If possible, he really wanted to leave Bai here. He would rather deal with Bai first than take out Grudin, but he also knew that wasn’t realistic.
Bai smiled gently at him. “Half an hour left; let’s make a deal.”
Grudin behind him seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. The count forced a grotesque smile on his stiff face, looking at Brendel, who appeared trapped, with a sense of schadenfreude.
So much so that it seemed that the calamity now besieging Firburh had nothing to do with him.
But that was also the case; for him, it was just a matter of reconstruction after the city fell, and as for the people? There were plenty of commoners, and he didn’t need to care. More importantly, he was more concerned about Brendel’s feelings at the moment, and he couldn’t help but chuckle, “Young man, impulsiveness comes with a price.”
But he suddenly recalled the last time he provoked Brendel and unconsciously softened his tone. “But I admit you are strong; strength is always worthy of respect. Of course, if you are willing to let this matter go, I can represent my father to make a promise—”
“To promise that our grievances end here.”
He seemed to relax and spoke eloquently, “In fact, you also understand that nobles generally do not wish to endure a mutually destructive war. However, there is one more thing; my adopted daughter is still in your hands—”
He was about to continue along this topic when he noticed Bai turning back, his cold, metallic gaze under the mask fixated on him. Grudin felt a chill in his heart and suddenly realized something, quickly shutting his mouth.
Meanwhile, Bai turned back, waiting for Brendel’s response.
Charles and Xi also looked at their lord.
Brendel coldly replied, “Compromising again and again, Tyamas, do you take me for a complete fool?”
“Or would you prefer to give up? I know these bone frames can’t stop you, my lord, but what about your subordinates?” the undead knight asked. “Of course, this is acceptable to me; that’s the difference between you and me.”
Grudin smiled darkly, knowing that Bai’s words were actually trying to provoke Brendel. But he liked the idea, especially since the previous day, he had used the same tactic to force Brendel to compromise. Watching the opponent walk into the same trap twice filled him with a gloomy sense of perverse pleasure.
But Brendel sighed.
“Tyamas, in my homeland, there’s an old saying,” his grip on the sword hilt loosened slightly, “A person’s life cannot step into the same river twice.”
Bai was taken aback. But he immediately saw Brendel’s right hand flash, the longsword slicing through the air directly at Grudin. The undead knight reacted in the blink of an eye, raising his giant scythe slightly. There was a clang as the longsword, glinting silver, grazed the right arm of the count, embedding itself into a nearby oil painting with a thud.
But even fixed in place, the sword hilt quivered incessantly.
Bai glanced back.
Grudin had already covered the wound on his right arm, his face pale, staring at Brendel with a look of deep hatred. This was the second time; he didn’t know what deep grudge this young man held against him, leaving him with a lesson each time.
Bai sighed and turned back. “Why go through this, Mr. Brendel? Hate is not unresolvable. However, I’m more interested in what you meant by that previous statement?”
“That statement has many interpretations,” Brendel replied coolly. “But my favorite of them is this—people cannot make the same mistake repeatedly in their lifetime. Because that truly tests the lower limits of one’s intelligence.”
“You mean to say,” Bai looked at him, “that you wish to battle me?”
“Indeed.”
The undead knight’s grip tightened on the giant scythe, the metal gloves creaking as they clenched. He stared at Brendel, saying, “Then let’s see if you can evade me in a shorter time—”
The ethereal armor composed of soul fire expanded in an instant, forming a close-to-solid silver wall.
But Brendel merely shook his head while looking at him.
“Tyamas, you’ve misunderstood something.”
Bai froze for a moment. “What do you mean?”
“In fact, I’ve already bypassed you,” the young man said calmly, his gaze passing over the shoulder of the undead knight, landing squarely on the longsword embedded in the oil painting. And that sword, still trembling, had its tip firmly pinned to a card that no one else could see but him.
A card depicting a unicorn lady knight—
“The elven banner flies high, hearts shining, swords gleaming—”
“Come forth, Medisa.”
A piercing scream—
Bai turned back, staring in shock as a silver knight’s lance pierced through Grudin’s chest, yet the count remained incredulous. He put all his strength into turning around, but the lance pulled back slightly, and a spray of blood shot out. Count Grudin collapsed to the ground like a pile of mush, while the undead knight turned back, seething with rage:
“Medisa, how could this happen—I thought I had severely injured her!” he roared in a low voice.
Brendel looked down at him from above, a mocking expression on his face. “Do you remember I’m a summoner?” Charles shivered at this remark, thinking to himself what sort of summoner that made him.
But Bai frowned. “Impossible. A summoner cannot perform pinpoint summoning through my ethereal wall.”
Brendel smiled.
“That’s why I’m a special case.”
……(To be continued, to know what happens next, please log in for more chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)
