Chapter 244: Act 11 – The Territory (5) (Second Update, Please Subscribe and Vote)
The dungeon was silent enough to hear a pin drop, and besides Flour, who looked at the old man with a face full of doubt, the others were momentarily speechless.
“Is this really the Lionheart Sword…” Berun suddenly murmured to himself, unable to step back any further. “…How is this possible? How is it possible! The late King Eke once said that if his descendants were to forget their glory, the Lionheart Sword would be lost as well. Our party has gathered to restore the lost honor, but why is the Lionheart Sword linked to your destiny, my lord…”
“Master Berun,” Brendel said as he put away the Philosopher’s Stone, looking at the bewildered old man, finding it hard to connect him with the royal family’s chief master craftsman. However, the confirmed information from the forum couldn’t be wrong, and despite the man’s strange demeanor, he had shown capabilities that caught Brendel’s attention. This chief craftsman of Erluin surprisingly understood runes, which took Brendel by surprise. “You know something about the Lionheart Sword, don’t you?”
Berun paused, calming down due to the question. He looked at the young lord, knowing he couldn’t keep anything from him, but felt troubled: “My lord, this is a secret; my family made a vow—”
Brendel waved his hand impatiently. “I can probably guess what you’re getting at. I know the Tuhus family has always served the royal family—however, the founding king Eke of Erluin swore an oath upon this sword, stating that those who betray this oath would be abandoned by the sword. When the sword returns, Erluin will regain its glory, regardless of who wields it or when it appears—the Lionheart Sword is tightly linked to the destiny of this kingdom because of King Eke’s vow. It is precisely because the sword inherited the will of the late king that it can choose those who bring this honor—”
He paused, looking into the old man’s eyes with his light brown gaze. The meaning in his eyes was very clear—You are loyal to the kingdom, but the efforts of the royalists are not solely to make the king reign over the lords. To regain the lost honor, one must walk the path that the late King Eke once trod; the flame of the sages must burn through this sealed land to bring new life to this ancient kingdom. Though Brendel didn’t speak, he had already given Berun a choice.
Brendel had something else he wanted to say, for at that moment, he realized he stood on the same path as the stubborn and brave Princess Grifian. Although she had not succeeded in the previous timeline, this time, he would personally clear the thorns on her path, and Erluin would therefore gain a true rebirth from the flames.
It was as if history split before him into two straight lines; one led to the palaces and cities burning fiercely in flames, kingdoms in ruin, the earth bearing suffering, and living beings enduring torment in the fire, forever lost in darkness. The other direction, however, he did not know where it led—perhaps along that road, difficulties were hidden, and thorns soaked in blood thrived, but in any case, at least there was a glimmer of hope in the deepest darkness.
The old man hung his head, hesitating for a while, but ultimately chose to compromise and sighed, “You’re right, my lord. Regardless of who wields the sword, at least the ancient legends can’t be wrong—it’s just that I never imagined that Erluin’s path to glory would involve burning the land with flames. Perhaps we truly have become too degenerate,” he lifted his head, looking into Brendel’s eyes with his once again cloudy gaze, “My lord, you know that in Erluin, there are families with histories that stretch far back, but not every prominent family can trace its lineage back to the time of the late King Eke— the Siphai Dynasty and the Corvado Dynasty have both created and destroyed a legacy of nobility—”
He paused, “But there are some lesser-known families that have been passed down since ancient times.” The craftsman master’s tone turned somewhat proud: “The Tuhus family is one such family; although our name is not well-known, our ancestors served as the attendants to the late King Eke and were blacksmiths in the army. Generation after generation, our family has served the royal family; the craftsmanship of the White Lion Armor was indeed invented by us, and my family later supported the Corvado royal family until today.”
Brendel nodded; he already knew this history, at least enough to understand that the man was not deceiving him.
“But in fact, my ancestor was not only an attendant of the late King Eke but also one of the five followers who brought the Lionheart Sword out from the Eagle Empire Cruz,” Berun’s voice quieted. “However, many people do not truly know the nature of the Lionheart Sword; in most legends, the Lionheart Sword is one of the four holy artifacts of Cruz. But perhaps even most Crusian do not know that those four artifacts were originally one.”
Brendel’s eyes flickered as if he suddenly thought of something.
“So?” he asked.
“When those four artifacts are combined, their name is Odrefice, also known as the Staff of Flame—the world usually refers to it as the Blade of Fire, the sword of the King of Flames Gilt,” the old man enunciated slowly: “The true divine artifact.”
Brendel suddenly staggered; he blurted out, “Master, could the resonance reaction between the Philosopher’s Stone and the Lionheart Sword possibly produce a divine artifact reaction?”
“Of course not.” Berun shook his head, “Though the Lionheart Sword is a holy sword, it is merely a fantasy treasure; the gap between divine artifacts and fantasy treasures is not simply a matter of a few words. Though I’ve never truly dealt with divine artifacts, the comparison from ancient records indicates that the two are not on the same level.”
“Then, is there a possibility that the Lionheart Sword has perhaps been sanctified into a divine sword after accumulating so many years of burdening so much karma because of the late King Eke’s vow?” Brendel pressed further.
Berun shook his head again, “My lord, I suggest you shelve these unrealistic imaginations. As I said, once you truly experience the difference between divine artifacts and fantasy treasures, you’ll understand how naive and ridiculous your thoughts are.” When it came to knowledge about these treasures, this craftsman master exuded a kind of undeniable confidence. But he soon realized this, remembering how he offended Grudin and ended up imprisoned, and hurriedly lowered his head to express submissive apology while filled with regret.
Unfortunately, this attempt to appease would prove futile.
For at that moment, Brendel had no mind to pay attention to these trivial matters; he felt a wave of darkness wash over him as he suddenly understood why he had resonance with the Lionheart Sword that day. Because it was not merely a resonance with the sword, and connecting back to what the old man had said about the prophecy, he could clearly speculate what kind of favor he had done.
The Staff of Flame.
What resonated with him was the Staff of Flame! The very sword that the King of Flames Gilt once used—the Blade of Fire Odrefice. With Martha present, Brendel couldn’t help but groan inwardly; what a huge joke this was. Yet he had never heard of any news regarding the reappearance of Odrefice in the Amber Sword, nor had the Lionheart Sword disappeared without a trace—then, if we were to follow Berun’s words, it meant that history had undoubtedly changed somewhere along the line.
But where?
Brendel couldn’t help but rub his temples. “Alright,” he shook his head, “this topic ends here, Master Berun; I don’t want these words to spread,” he paused, “I suppose you wouldn’t want everyone to know the Lionheart Sword has chosen me, am I right—”
The craftsman master looked at him in confusion, thinking the Lionheart Sword was the rightful symbol of Erluin, because of Eke’s vow, he could establish himself as king based on this connection. In fact, when the Corvado Dynasty was first established, they also borrowed the name of the Lionheart Sword—however, the public largely did not know that the sword had been lost; if this matter became public, it would inevitably shake the influence of the royal family. It was just that he couldn’t fathom why this young man would take the initiative to suppress this point.
“Could it be that he genuinely supports the Princess?” Berun thought, as at the time he was imprisoned, the current Princess Grifian was still less than twelve, he certainly couldn’t have imagined Brendel’s origins, but in any case, he still held a half-believing attitude towards Brendel’s words.
The old man finally nodded, for no matter what, he never wished to see the royal family’s reputation damaged. He had dedicated half his life to the Corvado royal family; the most passionate battles he had fought were during his time as a royalist, and even if he ultimately failed, he had no regrets. Thus, no matter how correct Brendel’s assertions were, he could not sway to that side but subconsciously hoped Brendel would keep his word—as he said, he would assist the Princess.
If the crown prince stood behind the Everything Returns Society and the shadow of the revival of the Siphai Dynasty, then the Princess would become the only legitimate successor of the Corvado Dynasty.
Thus the old man had no choice.
He lowered his head, let out a breath, and replied, “My lord, I am naturally willing to share the craftsmanship of the White Lion Armor. However, if my lord wishes to train light-armored swordsmen, merely having the equipment is far from enough. Although the White Lion Armor is indeed the core of this troop type, however…”
Brendel’s face was hidden in the shadow of the torch’s light, and he smiled slightly, a faint curve appearing at the corners of his mouth: “The White Lion Swordsmen, a level one formation of Erluin. They gained fame in the battle against the Cruz Empire at Varnokha, known for their outstanding speed and protective capabilities. The core lies in the exceptional capabilities of the White Lion Armor—but this armor, borrowed from the design philosophy of the half-body armor of Queen Wind, right? On the other hand, while the White Lion tactics are complex, they are not irreplaceable—”
The aging craftsman master looked at him, his mouth falling open as he exclaimed, “You… you know the White Lion tactics?”
Brendel glanced at him, “Mediocre combat skills, what’s there to know or not know? When the late King Eke broke away from Cruz, he had the shadow of the Wind Elves’ Saint Ausoor behind him; otherwise, do you think Erluin could even match Cruz simply with the power of the kingdom? If that time Eke hadn’t sworn not to break away from the influence of the Temple of Fire, perhaps the first holy war recorded in history would have happened hundreds of years earlier,” he laughed lightly, “It’s just that the Temple of Wind did too much; both the White Lion Armor and the White Lion tactics deviate too far from their original forms. They turned a level three formation into a level one…”
Berun’s expression changed; he had heard of these secrets, but hearing them from this unfamiliar young man sounded altogether different, “My lord… are you saying?”
“The original version of the White Lion Swordsmen was the White Wing Knights of the Wind Elves, one of the elite guards of the Wind Elves, just greatly scaled down.” He smiled again, “Though the White Lion tactics are one of Erluin’s greatest secrets, they aren’t worth mentioning to me. If master can forge a batch of White Lion Armor in the shortest time possible, I will give you a surprise.”
As Brendel said this, he secretly laughed. Although the White Lion was relatively low level, if he were to go out searching within a hundred miles for someone who could teach this skill, it would be nearly impossible. Not to mention the whole of Toniger, even in the entire southern kingdom, it was likely there wouldn’t be a single person who knows this skill. After all, it was a secret of the Erluin royal family and certainly wouldn’t be found everywhere like cabbage. Just like craftsman master Berun, if not for a fortunate coincidence, he would not have appeared here.
“A surprise?” The old man naturally couldn’t see that Brendel was being evasive; he only asked in confusion.
“Certainly.”
Berun’s eyebrows furrowed, “Well then,” he answered, “but my lord, the White Lion Armor is actually an enchanted armor—”
“You mean special materials?”
The old man nodded.
“Then, what’s missing?” Brendel asked.
“As far as I know,” Berun replied, “Toniger doesn’t have high purity crystal mines, does it…?”
……
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