Chapter 363: Act 122 – Veronika (First Update)
“Faina, what’s going on?”
Brendel hadn’t even had the chance to respond when a nobleman dressed in a black formal suit emerged from the crowd of centaurs nearby. Upon seeing the noble lady tied up and then glancing at Rono and the other knights lying on the ground, his expression changed dramatically.
This middle-aged man raised his head and, upon noticing Brendel standing in the center with Antinna and Xi behind him, his face darkened. Without saying a word, he drew his longsword and lunged forward.
Accompanying the blade, Brendel felt a surge of scorching energy.
Passive Element, Gold Field.
Both Brendel and Xi’s eyebrows twitched, their elemental powers reacting simultaneously. After a moment of stasis, everyone felt a sudden drop in temperature, and arcs of lightning danced up and down the Thunder Spear in Xi’s hands.
The middle-aged man’s sword was deflected by a wall of fire just three inches away from Brendel. His expression changed, and he cautiously retreated, eyeing the two young individuals.
“Who are you?” Count Cullenz’s heart raced. He certainly recognized that Brendel and Xi were neither Tanya people nor tree spirits, particularly Xi’s striking red hair that made her identity as a mountain dweller easily discernible.
How had he never heard of two such young individuals with golden powers before?
“Lord Earl, they are Erluins!” The noblewoman Faina gasped as she saw the middle-aged man approach, almost unable to contain herself as she patted her small chest in relief. “They’re the ones who injured Rono and the others. That… that… young man even said… said… the Empire is nothing to speak of.”
“The Empire is nothing to speak of?” Count Cullenz snorted heavily at this statement. The pride of the Empire was an honor for every citizen of the Eagle, and in his eyes, the Erluins were merely a small group of rebels. Had it not been for the wind spirits stirring trouble in the past, the Emperor would have long since eradicated these rioters.
Even now, although Erluin had gained recognition from the Temple of Fire, the proud Crusian would still refuse to acknowledge this. To them, these Erluins surviving in a corner were nothing but bumpkins, and their nobles hardly qualified as true aristocrats.
Although Erluin’s ancestral monarch, Eke, indeed hailed from a historically significant noble family in Cruz.
He fixed Brendel with a somewhat shadowy gaze. “Young man, did you say that?”
Brendel regarded this nobleman, his mind searching for impressions of the man, but there were simply too many nobles in the Cruz Empire, and countless who had entered the Gold Field, making it hard for him to distinguish who this person was.
He casually replied, “Just speaking the truth.”
“Good, a truthful statement,” Count Cullenz ground his teeth, but his almost bloodless gray-white face bore a cold smile. “However, I hear your country is currently in quite a predicament, with King Obergo VII brought to tears by a mere Madara, sending messengers seeking help from His Imperial Majesty. Oh, by the way—didn’t that old fool just pass away?”
Pretending to ponder for a moment, he sighed. “Civil strife rising, it appears that your land is in dire straits, young man. I wonder if that princess is interested in our ninth prince; otherwise, perhaps our prince could lend a hand.”
“Even the insignificant Cruz Empire could easily resolve Erluin’s ridiculous troubles with a mere flick of a wrist.”
This nobleman’s words dripped with sarcasm, and they struck the ears of any Erluin listener as harsh. Antinna struggled to contain her temper, managing to hold her tongue—after all, she was a girl—but she still clenched her teeth in silence.
Even Xi frowned. Regardless of Erluin’s shortcomings, it was a nation shared by everyone living on this land, and such mockery from outsiders made her uncomfortable.
As for Brendel, from the moment this man mentioned the princess, a storm cloud had already gathered on his face. His hand brushed against the hilt of the Earth Sword for the first time.
He did not draw his sword hastily because he had no desire to kill, but if someone sought their own death, the young man would not mind assisting them.
Just a mere Golden stage.
By relying on his swordsmanship and strength, he could easily defeat a mid-level Golden like Kuran, but that wasn’t even his full combat power. Don’t forget that Brendel also held the titles of Traveler Mage and Elementalist.
He could confidently assure that without Xi intervening, he could incapacitate this man within ten strikes.
Funiya was holding Antinna’s hand—this little girl didn’t have much affection for Erluin, but she at least knew it was her brother Brendel’s homeland. When she saw Brendel’s dark expression, she understood that he was already quite unhappy.
She looked up at the Count and cheerfully declared, “Who are you? You are not welcome here!”
Count Cullenz was taken aback, not expecting a little child to dare retort. He hesitated but quickly scoffed, “What a rude child, little wonder you are a bumpkin’s offspring.”
However, before he could finish his sentence, he fell silent. Not just him, even the surrounding centaurs felt the air turn cold all of a sudden—centaurs loved watching excitement, and gladiatorial combats were ordinary fare for them—but at this moment, they noticed frost quickly forming on the wooden floor of the corridor, visible to the naked eye.
The cold white frost caused the wood to creak ominously as it warped, like a mournful cry before breaking. It spread from beneath Brendel’s feet towards Count Cullenz like a white frost snake.
“This is an element? What advanced Ice Element…” Count Cullenz’s expression changed in an instant.
He raised his sword in an attempt to block, but at that moment, a low voice thundered from outside the crowd, “Stop!”
Count Cullenz was stunned, but Brendel was oblivious. His Earth Sword had already been drawn, the power of the elements feeling his anger surge to its peak, reminiscent of the terrifying force previously exhibited in Grudin’s hall.
The white frost snake lunged toward Count Cullenz like lightning, but this time it was destined to fail, for an intangible force suddenly barred Brendel from further expanding his momentum.
It was as if a transparent wall had abruptly cut off Brendel’s sensitivity to the elements.
The young man was startled and looked up to see the centaurs parting, creating a path for a woman draped in a red long fur cloak, clad in shiny armor, with long hair as green as emerald cascading down her shoulders.
The woman was strikingly beautiful, appearing to be in her forties, though only fine lines appeared at the corners of her eyes. She merely cast a cold glance toward Brendel, who was ready to strike, yet that single gaze rendered him frozen in place.
Brendel recognized this woman—Veronika, Commander of the Cruz Azure Sky Legion.
She was one of the few female commanders within the Empire, having participated in the Eleven Month War and serving as the highest commander of the coalition on the Eastern Front in the Second Holy War. Having already gained titles like Sword Saint, Dragon Knight, War Sage, and Sky General thirty years ago, no one could truly grasp her current strength after having awakened her elemental powers a century ago.
To claim she was among the top experts of national treasure level within Cruz would certainly not be incorrect.
In fact, the moment Brendel caught sight of this woman, he couldn’t help but feel his hair stand on end.
While historically, Veronika had a good relationship with Freya and could even be said to be half her mentor, in the face of such a formidable woman, the future Valkyrie was merely a naive young girl.
Regardless of who she was, Brendel hoped to avoid encountering her in this place.
Let alone the fact that he had just severely punished individuals related to her; although it seemed this matter had been instigated by members of the Cruz Empire, which elder would not protect their kin?
Wasn’t this inviting disaster?
Oh, dear Martha, who wrote this script? Brendel nearly choked on his own blood at the sight of the woman’s distinctive blue eagle-shaped earrings.
“You look down on the Empire, don’t you?” The woman’s first glance at the young man was icy, and her tone left no room for niceties.
As she spoke, her aura transformed into a drawn sword, aimed directly at Brendel. It caused the young lord from Erluin to falter, but locking eyes with her, he took a deep breath and replied:
“It seems that the ancestors of the Cruz people have grown accustomed to using oppression and conquest to solve their problems, so they have forgotten the tolerance of civilization? Not just towards their own citizens, but it appears they are consistently overbearing towards outsiders as well?”
Though Brendel’s heart raced, he didn’t back down. This was the territory of the Druids—at least here, they wouldn’t dare to touch him.
His words were pointedly aimed at her sore spot; the Cruz Empire’s brutality and indifference had long been criticized within the influence of the Temple of Fire. Thankfully, among the seven High Priests of the Temple, Cruz accounted for more than half, thus making it possible to tightly hold religious power.
“Hmph, a sharp tongue won’t earn you any benefits,” the female commander said coldly. “Cullenz, teach this Erluin a lesson!”
Count Cullenz turned back, noticing that Brendel had already been locked onto by the aura of this legendary commander, unable to suppress a sinister smile. While he could not kill on Druid territory, it would be no problem for him to subtly make Brendel’s future difficult.
He was more than willing to ruin the futures of two promising young individuals from Erluin.
He immediately bowed respectfully to Veronika before drawing his sword and lunging toward Brendel’s wrist. However, standing behind Brendel, Xi would not allow him to fulfill his wish; the girl swept her spear up, instantly sealing off Cullenz’s attack route. Just as she was about to make her move, the female commander merely shot her a cold glance—at that moment, the red-haired girl felt as though she had been struck by lightning, and the battle spear fell to the ground with a loud clatter.
“Unaware of the danger!” Cullenz sneered, and the edge of his sword was nearly upon Brendel’s body.
(PS: How will Brendel face an opponent of elemental level? Stay tuned for the next update~ By the way, it’s the end of the month, where are the votes? Rolling around and asking for support!) (To be continued. If you wish to know what happens next, please log in for more chapters and support the author by reading the original version!)
