Chapter 373: Act 130 – The Erluin Embassy (Second Update)
“Why are they here?” Brendel wondered.
However, the few Erluin nobles had already slowed down near Brendel, and it seemed they were also observing him. Brendel actually recognized these individuals; the leader was a middle-aged man with a thin face and a slight limp—his name was Count Ouding, a high-ranking general of the Northern army.
The six men and two women behind him were likely non-powerful nobles from the royal capital. Brendel couldn’t remember each of their names but had some impressions of their faces.
These individuals were basically royalist supporters, at least centrists, but within them were some who were divided from the traditional royalists, which further confirmed Brendel’s suspicion that they had been sent into the Black Forest before the internal strife in Erluin.
But how did they learn about the Lionheart Sword?
Brendel did not know that during the battle to break through Ridenburg, Sir Overwell had been tracking their party, knowing all the secrets of the White Knight Aibodun from start to finish. Thus, Erluin had actually sent people into the Rendener region long before the artifact reacted.
As he observed these individuals, Count Ouding’s gaze also landed on him. The general from the Northern Phoenix Legion of Erluin recognized at first glance that this young man was a noble; that composure and elegance were not something one could fake, especially since Antinna beside him clearly looked like a noble lady, exuding a unique grace in her every action. Being in the company of such a young lady undoubtedly confirmed his identity.
Count Ouding glanced at the young people resting in the woods, thinking that they must be the attendants of this young noble. However, amongst them were lizardmen and elves, making the composition of Erluin’s followers quite complex.
Then he turned back and fixed his gaze on Brendel: “An Erluin person?”
Brendel nodded, thinking that these people likely were not here just to recognize each other as compatriots.
Sure enough, before Ouding could say a word, a short, plump noble next to him had already interjected, “You are the Erluin noble?”
“Isn’t your lordship also an Erluin noble?” Brendel raised an eyebrow and retorted, sensing the hostility in his tone.
The plump man was taken aback; Brendel certainly recognized this notorious conservative named Lobolen. Now in his seventies or eighties, Lobolen looked well-preserved; the lifespan of the Cruz people was significantly longer than that of humans, so he appeared merely middle-aged, although his once beautiful curly hair had turned white yet was neatly styled.
This stout noble was wearing a silver earl’s robe, and on his hat boasted three gold leaves representing his rank—common earls wore three silver leaves for decoration, while these three gold leaves clearly signified a special honor.
However, he was evidently taken aback by Brendel’s words and had not expected such a response.
After a moment, he angrily shouted, “It has nothing to do with whether I’m an Erluin noble, kid! I ask you, are you the one who offended the Cruz Empire this afternoon, bringing trouble to the kingdom?”
Brendel’s expression darkened, and he already guessed why these individuals had come here—
They were coming to demand accountability.
As for why they were doing so, recalling yesterday afternoon’s events at the Centaur Hoof market gave him an approximate understanding.
Brendel couldn’t help but shake his head; Erluin, oh Erluin, looking at these kingdom officials, he felt a moment of speechlessness.
“If you ask me whether I taught a lesson to some arrogant individuals this afternoon, that would be true,” Brendel replied coldly, staring at them. “But as for who has brought trouble to the kingdom, I wouldn’t know.”
He looked at the plump man, his gaze turning a bit mocking, the meaning in his eyes was obvious.
“As long as you admit it, that’s good!” Lobolen was unconcerned about Brendel’s gaze and simply replied, “The Cruz delegates have informed us that if you are not handed over to them within a stipulated time, they threaten that the kingdom will face a war—young man, you’d better watch yourself!”
“So you all want to hand me over?” Brendel looked at these individuals and asked with a hint of amusement, “Do you really think that’s possible?”
“That’s an order.” This time, it was a middle-aged noblewoman who spoke. She was dressed in the attire of the royal city officials but wore a scholar’s badge.
Brendel immediately recognized her identity as an academic from Lantonrand.
“An order?” Brendel almost laughed, “From whom?”
“In the name of the kingdom,” the woman said, “We are an embassy sent here by Her Majesty, representing both Her Majesty and the dignity of the kingdom, thus I command you—young noble, to lay down your weapons and come with us at once.”
“And if not?”
“Otherwise, your actions will be deemed as involving the kingdom in a war; we have reason to declare your behavior as violating the common code of the Erluin nobility.”
“In other words, we can declare you exiled from Erluin, and henceforth your actions will have nothing to do with the kingdom.”
After hearing this, Brendel took a deep breath, even his best upbringing couldn’t suppress his rage. Thankfully, he had encountered these individuals’ ugly faces in the game before; otherwise, he would have surely been choked with anger.
He turned to Count Ouding, looking at the high-ranking general from the Northern army and supporter of the later regent princess, asking, “As a soldier, does your lordship also think this way?”
However, Ouding did not answer. He merely frowned slightly, first unhappy that Lobolen had stolen his speaking opportunity, and secondly, he disapproved of the other party’s reckless behavior.
Although the Cruz delegates threatened war, as a soldier he was not afraid of conflict; however, given the current internal and external troubles facing Erluin, he had no choice but to stand alongside these people.
Ouding’s silence disappointed Brendel; he had initially thought that this future reformist would at least support him.
But Brendel now realized that stepping outside Erluin’s decaying noble circle to start anew was indeed the right choice. The nobility of this kingdom was beyond saving.
He barely managed to suppress his anger and raised his head to look at the female scholar, smiling slightly, “So you’re saying you want to exile me from Erluin, huh?”
“That depends on your choice,” the last noble replied.
Brendel nearly unsheathed his sword to slice these bastards in half; he quickly restrained himself and calmly looked at these individuals, answering with a forced smile:
“Alright then, you can go tell the Cruz people that I have already been expelled from the kingdom by all of you; perhaps they might accept this explanation.”
The few Erluin nobles were taken aback.
They initially intended to force Brendel to yield, but it would be strange for the Cruz people to accept such an explanation; those individuals clearly needed to see results to consider anything.
“Don’t think you can eat the meal without paying the bill!” Lobolen snapped angrily.
He raised his hand, preparing to have the embassy’s guards subdue the young man directly. The guards accompanying the embassy were royal knights, the elite of the Corvado royal family, and subduing a mere young noble shouldn’t be a problem.
He had previously observed Brendel’s attendants, all young or of other races; such a mixed troop, even if they had combat capabilities, would not pose much of a threat.
On the other hand, even though the Cruz had stated that Brendel had offended them, for the sake of face they certainly wouldn’t divulge the glorious deeds of Brendel; they would only vaguely refer to the conflict that occurred that afternoon at the Centaur Hoof market.
This led to the Erluin embassy’s misjudgment; they thought Brendel had some capabilities, but not too much. The prior display of courtesy followed by veiled threats was to preserve strength before the wolf disaster arrived, but now that Brendel insisted on resisting, they shouldn’t be surprised if they had to take action.
Lobolen, Ouding, and the female scholar all shared the same thought: no matter what, they couldn’t let the kingdom become embroiled in another war.
But just as he finished speaking, he saw Brendel smile at him.
“It seems you all intend to force me to yield, huh?” he asked.
“Naturally.”
“Then it seems the Cruz didn’t tell you the truth.” Brendel smiled, “If you really knew the full story, you would probably be much more cautious about your current actions.”
“Stop with the bluster,” Lobolen snorted coldly.
“Bluster?” Brendel shrugged, “Alright, the Cruz certainly didn’t tell you—first, I offended the only heir of the Ducal Prince of the Empire, causing that noble lady to lose face in front of everyone.”
Count Ouding was taken aback; he had initially thought Brendel was just having some minor conflict with the Cruz but hadn’t realized it was such a situation.
The nobleman immediately felt it was troublesome; based on that duke’s temperament, it was quite possible he would indeed start a war.
However, Ouding didn’t expect Brendel wasn’t finished yet.
The young lord continued, “Then the Cruz certainly didn’t tell you—I’ve also offended the Empire’s Border Knights, sending an entire squad of them to the ground unable to get back up.”
The noblewoman had initially wanted to say something, but upon hearing this, her expression changed—one person took down an entire squad of the Cruz Border Knights? She looked at Brendel, thinking the guy was really stretching the truth too far.
“The Cruz didn’t tell you either—I also offended the Empire’s Knight Flower, Count Cullenz, who was renowned as the next generation’s swordsman ten years ago; I remember I used a spell to send him flying, I wonder if he has recovered yet,” Brendel said with a laugh, “I hope he doesn’t end up with any scars on his face.”
“I also made enemies of the imperial elite knights, disarming an entire squad of them.”
“Oh right, and their Royal Alchemist Association, almost took out one of their geniuses—a fifteen-year-old War Alchemist.”
The young man nodded: “By the way, it seems I also offended someone—Veronika, the commander of the Azure Sky Legion; you should be familiar with her. I exchanged ten moves with her, and in the end, I threatened her with the Ducal Prince’s daughter, forcing her to retreat—.”
He turned around, looking at Lobolen and the others with an amused expression: “If the Cruz told you any of this, would you still intend to force me to leave?”
Then he paused, looking at these individuals.
“Also, you want me to apologize to the Cruz people,” he inquired, “So may I ask, whom do you think I should apologize to for the aforementioned matters?”
……
(PS: Sorry for coming back late, bowing, OTL) (To be continued. For more chapters, please log in. Support the author, support legitimate reading!)
