Chapter 327: Act 94 – The Maiden’s Weaving (Part 1)
Brendel got off the coach and fell into a daze, which took everyone by surprise; however, the young man quickly shook his head to dispel this temporary distraction, as the troubles he faced now were far more pressing than whatever had just crossed his mind—
He suddenly felt that the journey had been full of ups and downs, with far too many difficulties.
This was why he had rushed back to Firburh overnight, for just yesterday, Charles had sent a mental message indicating that Xi’s condition had worsened; she might not survive the day—
This news immediately cast a shadow over Brendel’s recently uplifted spirits; he was perhaps the second most aware of Xi’s condition after Charles, but in order to swiftly handle the affairs in Schafflund, he forced himself to avoid thinking of anything negative regarding the situation—
Yet some things could not change merely based on one’s subjective will. Despite Brendel’s thorough preparations, Xi could only hold on until today.
In fact, as soon as he secured control over the Schafflund mines, he had dispatched a team of mercenaries to escort Xi back to his territory along with Medisa, so that Charles could manage the spread of the divine blood within the girl’s body.
Though this retainer of his did not seem particularly reliable at a glance, she was indeed a mentor-level wizard who had entered the realm of gold magic and was far superior in these mysterious matters compared to Brendel, a golden swordsman and half-hearted elementalist.
Unfortunately, Brendel also understood that no matter how powerful Charles was, he could not reverse the already existing facts.
Xi’s body had already faced death once; it was the immense energy of the divine blood that reversed life and death, pulling her soul back from the underworld—but such resurrection did not come without a price—the divine blood was neither a savior nor a Red Cross; this uncontrolled divine power would not kindly assist an ordinary person without reason.
The purpose of the divine blood was to preserve the existence of Xi’s soul, allowing it to integrate better with her body without rejection. Once this purpose was fulfilled, Xi’s soul would become its enemy; the divine blood had no consciousness, and its actions were purely instinctive, thus Xi would be overwhelmed shortly after the divine blood gained control of her body.
Although Charles had done his best to delay this time, ultimately, external forces could not alter the imbalance within Xi; this day would come sooner or later.
The mere thought of this made Brendel uneasy, causing his earlier enthusiasm for conversing with Odum inside the coach to wane significantly. However, he still knew he had to finish his words. He was not only the lord chosen by the red-haired girl but also the master of all in this land.
At least for now.
He could feel this responsibility weighing on him at all times, so he turned back to glance at the somewhat fatigued old dwarf in the coach. Odum was clearly not accustomed to traveling by coach; he was somewhat allergic to the silk curtains and could not tolerate the bumps they had experienced along the way.
Had Brendel not said something that piqued his interest, it was likely the old dwarf would have reached his limit long ago.
“In the future, you will be the chief architect of the territory,” Brendel said, “Whatever you need, just tell Antinna—”
Brendel turned back, but unfortunately, Antinna was not here. She should be with Romaine and Xi, as she had a good relationship with Xi—in fact, this noble girl generally got along well with everyone.
As for Romaine, he had returned three days ago with Husher, escorting a shipment of silver—though this was just nominal; Brendel knew the young boy was simply bored staying in Schafflund and wanted to stretch his legs.
“Never mind, I’ll introduce you to her later,” Brendel said. “For now, the territory lacks both manpower and financial resources, but you can take charge of repairing the walls. I will have Crenshia and Master Berun pass the relevant matters to you, and you can consult with them if you have any questions—”
He paused, realizing that the old dwarf, being a miner by trade, naturally was not very familiar with construction and engineering. However, the innate talent of the runic dwarves gave him confidence, and he said, “Firburh has a private library that should contain books on architectural engineering. This fortress was built up by the previous lords one generation after another, with master builders among them, and the nobles liked to document their insights; if there are any, they should all be there.”
The old dwarf blinked, as if waking from a beautiful dream of construction. He remembered that this young man was merely the leader of a rebel mercenary group—something he had known beforehand but initially did not care about, being a runic dwarf and not some pitiful human. As for the troubles involving human lords and kings, he had little interest.
At most, Odum would simply roll up his bedding and return to the gold dwarven lands; after all, he was a dwarf, and a “respected” elder at that, albeit a title he had claimed for himself— but it was not unusual for a dwarf to feel uncomfortable in a human world.
Moreover, if the old dwarf were chased back by Erluin’s ruler, perhaps he would still be viewed as a respected hero among his fellow dwarves.
Since the Second Holy War, relations between the gold dwarves and humans had not been very good.
However, Brendel’s words pulled the short and stout Odum back to reality, making him aware that this so-called chief architect actually had neither manpower nor money, and most critically, he did not seem to have much ability himself.
He suddenly remembered a dangerous promise he had made—building a fortress? With Martha overseeing, he might not even be able to construct a pigsty adequately.
If that young man asked him whether he had the confidence to build a fortress that would be remembered through the ages, how should he respond?
“Ah! Yes, esteemed Lord, Odum can indeed build a fortress that will be remembered through the ages— and he swears, no one can breach the fortress’s door— because it simply doesn’t exist!”
Odum could imagine that if he answered this way, the young man before him might very well stab him through with his sword. He immediately snapped back to reality, breaking into a cold sweat; even the cold air had soaked through his leather armor, making him shudder.
Yet, Brendel did not notice Odum’s odd behavior, thinking that the old dwarf was merely exhausted. In truth, he himself was weary from the overnight journey; he had chatted with Odum throughout the night on the coach and had not slept yet.
His resting time in Schafflund had not exceeded four hours each day; as a lord, there always seemed to be an endless stream of tasks. Brendel mused that in that other world, he would never have expected that he would one day become so industrious willingly as a homebody.
But such was the case, and it had indeed happened.
This made the young man chuckle bitterly, feeling as though he had come full circle back to the starting point. He thought if he had worked as hard in his past life, perhaps he could have achieved something extraordinary, but it seemed this world had no “what-ifs.”
Now, the mere thought of Xi made him unable to shake off his worries; this anxiety, mingled with fatigue, nearly drained the color from his face. Beside him, Flour noticed his demeanor and could not help but frown.
Odum was also taken aback; he saw the wavering young man clinging to the coach door while discussing serious matters with him, with words filled with trust, and even the thick-skinned old dwarf could not help but feel his ears warm slightly.
He hesitated, unsure whether to reveal the truth; in the end, he decided it was best not to disclose anything. Such matters could be hurtful; he truly feared that Brendel might not be able to bear it and would spit out blood, collapsing in front of the coach.
Of course, he was even more afraid that the young man’s subordinates outside would rush in and tear him apart; no matter how valiant, noble, and rare blooded a runic dwarf might be, he could easily be killed with one sword thrust—there was no need for two.
He thought for a moment and decided to take it day by day; perhaps runic dwarves truly had a talent for architecture? Odum could only grit his teeth and vaguely agree with Brendel’s words.
However, as the young man recalled his experiences in games, he mentioned that the keys to constructing a massive city in this era were the drainage system and waste disposal. At this point, the old dwarf finally grasped the crux of things.
His small eyes lit up slightly.
The gold dwarves were renowned for constructing underground mines and tunnel cities; they were the best miners and tunnel workers. Although they did not produce much wastewater while living in underground tunnels—gold dwarves hardly bathe throughout their lives and subsist on food from the soil, with limited wastewater produced mostly from drinking water—Odum knew that those crisscrossing tunnels provided gold dwarves with unique methods for handling domestic waste.
In fact, a city of over a hundred thousand people generates a significant amount of garbage and wastewater daily; if such waste and wastewater are not managed promptly, diseases can arise, and plagues can spread immediately. This is one critical reason why large cities do not emerge in areas lacking civilization.
Yet at this moment, Odum felt he had found a direction; drainage and waste management sometimes intersect, and he believed he could achieve remarkable results simply by borrowing the methods of gold dwarves.
As for the fortress, walls, and, of course, city gates, he was indeed familiar with some architectural techniques of mountain dwarves. The old dwarf discovered that as he squeezed his potential, things no longer appeared so complex.
Having realized this, he finally nodded to the young lord.
Seeing Odum nod, Brendel finally felt relieved; he turned to glance at Crenshia and Vurn nearby. The two captains wore neutral expressions, aware that the young noble’s mood might not be very good at this moment, so none of them wished to provoke bad luck.
Brendel retracted his gaze and said to Flour beside him:
“Alright, take me there.”
“Don’t you need to rest a bit?” The tone of the wild elf girl didn’t seem all that concerned, but her words betrayed her thoughts: “Esteemed Lord?”
“No need.”
Brendel took a deep breath; perhaps Flour was still unaware, but he understood that Xi’s life was at risk at any moment. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have dropped everything to rush back overnight—because he had promised in the depths of the Schafflund mines that he would ensure nothing happened to that red-haired girl.
Thus, at this moment, he at least had to return to fulfill that promise.
He was Brendel, the man destined to change the fate of this ancient kingdom. Therefore, he believed that the first thing he must change was the fate of everyone around him.
…
(PS: OTL, I just realized that the update has been delayed… I haven’t personally uploaded a chapter in so long that I forgot to release it. I, I apologize to you all, Gesu, please forgive me, this sinner…) (To be continued; for further developments, please log in for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)
