Chapter 357: Act 118 – The End of Blooming Flowers (First Update)
Brendel almost jumped up. Although road construction was not his forte, he was very familiar with the Black Forest, which was a treasure trove yearned for by blacksmith masters like him. However, he knew exactly what kind of place it was.
“That sounds a bit troublesome,” Charles replied, shaking his head.
“What do you mean?” Brendel suddenly sensed that there was something behind the young wizard’s words.
“The Lord… discovered an associated crystal mine in the Black Forest… I mean, according to you, Master, turning it into ours might be a bit complicated.”
“Magic crystal mine!” The elder really jumped this time. “Are you serious?”
“No, I mean an associated crystal mine,” Charles quickly shook his head. “According to the Lord’s investigation, it should be a deposit of starmetal and cold iron, as well as some other rare ores.”
“Iron mine…” Brendel’s voice trembled.
“Yes, there is iron, but also starmetal and cold iron.”
“H-How big?”
“The size is unknown. They spent two days there but haven’t found the edge yet. Time is limited, and we’ll just have to wait to determine how big the mining area really is,” Charles answered seriously.
“Two days, and they… didn’t find the edge?” Brendel felt suffocated. The Lord’s party consisted of three golden-level beings. What did it mean that they didn’t find the edge in two days?
Suddenly, another thought struck him, and he turned pale: “Open-pit mine?”
“No,” Charles shook his head. “It’s underground.”
Only then did Brendel breathe a sigh of relief, feeling a little regretful. “From your description, I thought it was an open-pit mine. But how did the Lord’s party discover it? Mining exploration is a specialized knowledge, weren’t they traveling in the forest?”
“No, no, no,” Charles shook his head again. “Listen to me, it’s hard to describe, but how to say it… What I mean is—this is an underground open-pit mine.”
“Ah!”
Brendel’s hand slipped, and the cigarette butt that had accompanied him for many years fell to the steps, shattering into pieces.
However, he didn’t care about that at all. He grabbed the other person’s sleeve, completely disregarding that the other was a wizard, and couldn’t help but shout, “Are you saying there’s an underground open-pit mine with unknown boundaries, associated with a magic crystal mine, and containing a lot of rare ores waiting for us to mine in the Black Forest?”
Charles quickly pushed his hand away, raised a finger to his lips, and said, “Shh, quietly, quietly.” The young wizard said mysteriously, “You wouldn’t want to share this news with Count Rendener, right?”
Brendel fell silent and hurriedly glanced around cautiously. Then he quickly turned back to Charles and said, “Is what you said true? That’s amazing! The white lion armor will be completely fine now!”
“Wait,” Charles feigned ignorance. “Master Brendel, that place is quite far in the Black Forest; according to what you just said, it might take us quite a long time before we can mine there.”
“Don’t talk nonsense!” Brendel waved his hand. His eyes were red, gritting his teeth as he said, “Leave this to me, even if it costs me my old bones, I’ll get this done!”
“Martha above, an open-pit crystal mine!” The elder couldn’t help but mutter to himself.
“That can’t happen,” Charles quickly shook his head. “If you were to have an accident, the Lord would definitely take me out, especially since he knows it was my instigation.”
Brendel glared at him angrily. “Hmph, don’t worry, I won’t go do this alone. I can’t do it by myself. I’ll have my students help, but that will take some time.”
When the elder said this, he clearly showed great determination. It seemed that the mining area was irresistibly attractive to him as a blacksmith master.
He thought for a moment. “But we can start work first, let someone get some magic crystals. Those things are much more valuable than silver. With money, other matters will be easier to handle.”
However, Master Brendel suddenly paused and realized, squinting suspiciously at the young wizard, “Wait, you weren’t planning to scheme against me from the beginning, were you?”
“Ah!” Charles exclaimed, looking innocent. “Of course not. I think it’s a good idea too, but others won’t do. I think the troglodytes are good, but I’m not sure if Tagib would agree.”
Brendel looked at him skeptically, feeling more and more that this damned wizard had dug a pit for him to fall into. Suddenly, he remembered he had said he would bring his students. Thinking of what he had previously discussed with Brendel, he felt a wave of darkness before his eyes.
However, the young wizard completely failed to notice the regretful expression of the master craftsman. Charles casually considered how to get Tagib to mobilize as many resources as possible for him.
Otherwise, fulfilling the Lord’s command wouldn’t be simple—
To open a road in the Black Forest.
This was an achievement that Erluin had not seen in hundreds of years.
…
However, while Brendel and Charles were determined to open up a “road” in the Black Forest and put it on the agenda, sending in the first batch of troglodytes with great urgency, Brendel and his team did not stop their exploration in the Black Forest.
In the calendar of Vaunte, the Slumber Moon symbolizes talent, and astrologers believe that babies born in this month have extraordinary potential.
But potential, in the ancient prophecies of witches, means dormant power; slumber corresponds to awakening—starting from slumber, to awakening—this is the meaning of the last month of the year in the Vaunte continent.
Thus, it is both the inspiration for wisdom and spirit to illuminate the fire of civilization in darkness and ignorance and the most crucial month for bidding farewell to the old year.
On the last day of the Slumber Moon, the thirty-first, people welcome the biggest festive celebration in the Vaunte world—the Festival of Awakening.
This grand celebration begins at this moment and lasts for seven days. But in bustling cities like * the festive atmosphere may extend even to two months after the Festival of Awakening.
Of course, in the dark wilderness, such conditions do not exist.
At midnight on this day, Brendel and his party finally arrived at the outskirts of the Loop of Trade Winds—
In order to commemorate the soon-to-be-past prosperity and summer leaf year, the logistics chief of the adventure, Flour, distributed a small piece of gingerbread to each member of the team, even including Repal and the fire-claw lizardmen at his side.
The young people gathered around the campfire, singing songs from their hometown. In their voices lay not only nostalgia for that beautiful past but also yearning for the future.
The singing was melodious, accompanied by the sparks from the campfire soaring into the pitch-black night sky, transforming the hardships of the past month in the Black Forest into memories.
Everyone felt themselves becoming more mature.
Brendel also sat beside the campfire and gave his gingerbread to Diya, the wild elf girl, who seemed to delight in this special little treat not seen in the Lubis region—she held a small piece of gingerbread in one hand, crumbs at the corner of her mouth, smiling sweetly at Brendel.
“It seems Diya likes me more,” Brendel told Flour.
Flour, standing behind Brendel, glanced at her sister but didn’t respond.
In fact, her gingerbread was also saved for her sister; although she was strict, it was evident that as an elder sister, she genuinely cared for her sibling.
“Flour is too lazy to bother with you,” Antinna handed her gingerbread to Diya, answering with a smile—rarely did this noble young lady feel relaxed on such a night.
This was the last day of the year, and it seemed like too many things had happened over the past year, so many that she couldn’t remember them all.
This was the year of blooming flowers and summer leaves.
Beside Antinna, Diya gathered all the gingerbread into her skirt, already forming a small stack. She looked at these gingerbreads with bright, sparkling eyes.
And nearby, Xi, leaning against the tree trunk, glanced at her, then back to her own gingerbread, thought for a moment, and added it to Diya’s stash.
“Thank you, Sister Xi,” Diya said sweetly.
The red-haired girl reached out and patted her head.
Brendel smiled, neither answering Antinna nor caring about Flour’s attitude. He lifted his head to look at the inky night sky—watching silent leaves dangling from tree branches under the darkened sky, motionless—watching the sparks from the campfire rise, flickering slightly before disappearing.
The brightest star in the sky belonged to Martha. He looked at that star, waiting for its light to reach its peak brightness.
Thus, the year of blooming flowers and summer leaves passed.
He would forever remember this year and the Black Rose War that took place within it—when he looked up, it seemed he could see the night sky of the summer of Buche between April and May, along with the splendid galaxy stretching across the sky.
He could see many faces, but those faces appeared and gradually faded, becoming blurry. Yet, the faces of others became more distinct; Brendel recognized them one by one—Little Romain, Freya, Marden, and Brensen, along with many others.
This was his year of blooming flowers and summer leaves.
It had come to his life for the second time, and left for the second time, seeming inconspicuous, yet indelible.
Then Brendel thought of another matter. The Year of the Sword, the bloody wars on the continent began to trace back their causes this year. Perhaps it could not be called the beginning of the wars and chaos that would last for half a century, but nonetheless, Vaunte was beginning to spiral into turmoil from this year.
The sword symbolizes conquest.
However, it is also a weapon that causes bloodshed.
When the sword appeared on the earth, the stars changed their trajectories, and heroes emerged.
Therefore, the astrologers named this year the Year of the Sword. It marks the beginning of Vaunte’s chaotic history, and also the year when the players began to compose their own epics.
However, Brendel stared at the night sky, thinking of another matter. The Year of the Sword, this was a year that would decide the fate of Erluin; would history return to glory and honor, or slide down into the abyss along its original path? It seemed the time for that moment was not far off.
The young lord lowered his head, looking at the Loop of Trade Winds beneath the night sky.
The atmospheric circulation formed a massive swirling vortex, beginning at the southern slopes of the Karanjar Mountains, crossing the entire peninsula, and reaching the cloud tops directly. At this moment, it seemed like an ancient behemoth lay before such a group of people.
…(To Be Continued, to know how the story unfolds, please log on, more chapters available, support the author, support legitimate reading!)
