Chapter 374: Act 131 – The Gold-maned Toquinin (First Update)
The Erluin embassy was left stunned by Brendel’s words. Earl Lobolen raised his short, pudgy hand in the air, but ultimately did not bring it down.
A strange silence spread among the faint mist in the forest, and in the distance, the glow of a campfire flickered, accompanied by the crackling sound of burning charcoal.
In this pin-drop quiet environment, the sounds became remarkably clear.
Brendel could see a look of disbelief in the eyes of these people reflecting the firelight. Earl Lobolen had half-raised his hand, the young scholar slightly covered her mouth, and Earl Ouding’s hand hung limply from his sword.
Everyone looked at this young noble with expressions as though looking at a madman.
So, Brendel spread his hands, his expression gentle, and spoke in a voice as light as the breeze in the night: “So, what are your plans moving forward?”
The nobles’ lips quivered slightly.
…
“Tch, those guys can’t even control their own people; they are useless.” Faina said, hiding behind a rock while adjusting her skirt, her gaze fixated on the clearing outside the forest where Brendel faced off against the Erluin embassy. “At this rate, we won’t achieve our original goal at all.”
As she spoke, she couldn’t help but glance back at Viscount Alman with a touch of complaint.
The young viscount, unbothered, smiled confidently: “Don’t worry. The main event is still to come.”
As if to confirm his words, before Alman could finish speaking, Brendel suddenly turned sharply towards the forest and shouted, “Who?” His voice rang out, and the Earth Sword in his hand flashed like a black light, deflecting a crossbow bolt that had flown from the woods.
The bolt was originally aimed at Earl Ouding but veered slightly towards the young scholar behind him. The noble lady hadn’t reacted at all; if Brendel hadn’t acted, she would have already been bleeding on the ground.
However, while Brendel managed to save one, he couldn’t guard against more. Just as he struck, Earl Lobolen got hit by an arrow. Fortunately, though he was out of practice, he had some basic swordsmanship knowledge and managed to dodge the fatal strike at the critical moment, getting shot in the shoulder instead.
The pampered noble was unaccustomed to such injuries and let out a howl akin to that of a pig being slaughtered.
“Who!” Earl Ouding reacted just one step slower than Brendel, shocked and furious that someone dared to ambush them at this moment. He immediately drew his sword towards the direction of the attack.
Meanwhile, Brendel was already frowning at the broken crossbow bolt on the ground. His vast experience allowed him to deduce many things in an instant after having deflected the bolt.
“It’s clear that this arrow isn’t the work of a double-crossbow; judging by its force, it should at least be of alchemical-grade equipment.
The Erluin people aren’t accustomed to using magical crossbows, so Brendel quickly ruled out the possibility of an ambush set up by the individuals before him; he distinctly sensed that the arrow was aimed at Earl Ouding.
Were there still enemies among the Erluin embassy?
He turned his head and saw a group of shadows emerging from the forest.
These shadows moved swiftly, as if they had surrounded the area the moment they appeared, numbering at least in the hundreds. Brendel squinted his eyes as the firelight illuminated the shapes of the attackers, and he couldn’t help but freeze for a moment.
They were humanoid creatures with muscular builds, each sporting the head of a lion, their grayish-golden manes hanging down like beards over their fitted leather armor.
Their hands were also covered in furry claws, but they were much more elongated compared to their quadrupedal relatives, wearing leather boots and carrying various weapons.
“Gold-maned Toquinin!” Earl Ouding shouted, identifying the newcomers.
As the hundreds of gold-maned lionmen halted, two larger ones, towering almost a head higher than their ordinary counterparts, stepped forward. The leader bore a long scar across his face, splitting his narrow eyes, while the one behind him appeared to be his subordinate, lagging a step behind.
“Good morning, everyone. I am Lawak, just here to disturb you a little.” The first gold-maned lionman smiled lightly, causing the flesh-red scar on his face to distort as the muscles moved.
“Toquinin lionmen, what do you want?” The general’s face darkened. “Are you trying to incite war?”
Unfortunately, the gold-maned lionman Lawak completely ignored him and pointed his sword directly at Brendel. “Young boy, hand over your sword!”
This action caused the expressions of all the Erluin nobles present to change—though Lawak was directing his words at Brendel, his dismissive attitude nearly drove Earl Ouding and the prone Lobolen to madness.
They could easily find trouble with Brendel because they were all nobles of Erluin.
And they could tolerate the insult from the Crusian because the Eagle Empire had an intimidating reputation.
But what were these barbarians?
During the time Erluin was founded, the gold-maned lionmen were merely a small tribe on the northwestern border of the kingdom. Subsequently, they fought against the Erluin people for many years, suffering considerable losses before they were finally tamed and retreated into the mountains.
Though it had been nearly a century since the kingdom’s decline, and the gold-maned lionmen had become somewhat restless on the borders, it was unexpected that they had become this arrogant.
Not only did they encircle and attack the Erluin embassy, but they also did so with an attitude of complete fearlessness.
Earl Ouding’s first thought was whether these uncivilized beasts had found some backing, but he could only think of the Crusian. However, that seemed highly unlikely; compared to the Toquinin, Erluin still adhered to the teachings of the Temple of Fire.
In the eyes of the Crusian, these creatures were true beasts and would never stand behind them to support a war against Erluin.
That would violate the teachings of the Temple of Fire.
Beyond that, the nobleman could not think of any reason for the beasts to be so audacious. Of course, he didn’t want to act rashly; there were hundreds of people lurking in the forest while they had only twenty or thirty guards with them. It was clear who would suffer if a fight broke out.
He exchanged a glance with Lobolen. Both agreed that these uncivilized creatures needed to be taught a lesson, but a wise man does not throw himself into immediate trouble. At least they needed to keep the situation stable and return to the camp first.
He hardened his face and asked in a deep voice, “Lawak, do you not worry about the consequences of your actions? Or do you think the Erluin embassy consists of only us?”
Lawak squinted, as if just now noticing the others present aside from Brendel. He sneered, licking his claws, and observed the nobles with the characteristic feline diamond-shaped pupils.
Indeed, had he attempted such a thing earlier, he would not have dared to do it.
But before coming here, he had received a significant piece of information from the Crusian: the external Erluin had now fallen into division, utterly incapable of waging war. Amusingly, it seemed that these Erluin nobles, usually so high and mighty, were still unaware of this; he eagerly anticipated how they would react to this new revelation.
The Toquinin had long been coveting the rich lands of Erluin, and after waiting for a decade, they finally stumbled upon such an opportunity. Since they would eventually tear the façade down, what did it matter if it was today or tomorrow?
Moreover, the Crusian had informed them that the Earth Sword was currently in the hands of these Erluin people, which was even more critical to them.
The Earth Sword was originally a holy artifact of the wilderness, said to unify many mountain-dwelling and land-dwelling peoples for those who wielded it. The gold-maned lionmen had believed that the sword was lost in the heights of Anwa, leading to a contest with the dwarves for over a century.
But unexpectedly, it had appeared here.
They had initially come for the rumors of the divine weapon, and though the artifact was nowhere to be seen, obtaining the legendary sword they had sought for so long was still a decent alternative.
“Consequences?” Lawak watched as the faces of the Erluin nobles shifted dramatically, unable to contain a cold laugh. “If you had said that a few decades ago, I might have worried, but it seems you still don’t know your nation’s current circumstances?”
Earl Ouding was taken aback.
“What do you mean?” someone asked.
“Your country has now been split in two. The lords are fighting fiercely among themselves, and it is precisely because of you that you have the leisure to come here seeking adventure and treasure,” the large gold-maned lionman smiled slightly.
His words hit the assembled Erluin nobles like a bolt of lightning, leaving their faces pale.
Of course, they knew what the situation was like within Erluin; their old king had sent them to the Southlands to seek the Lionheart Sword in hopes of changing the kingdom’s fate, but they had not anticipated that the kingdom would already fall into division before they completed their mission.
What had happened? Was this truly Lady Martha’s will?
Just as everyone was in a state of turmoil, Brendel finally spoke up:
“Sorry,” he replied in a low voice, “I didn’t quite catch what you just said. Could you please repeat it?”
Brendel’s grip on the Earth Sword slightly loosened, his expression like water.
He felt that the anger burning within his chest could scorch the heavens. Initially, Brendel was already quite displeased with his fellow countrymen coming to him with baseless accusations and was ready to deal with these clueless fools on behalf of the future regent princess.
Yet he hadn’t expected—
At this moment, someone would actually walk right into his spear’s point. When the tall gold-maned lionman pointed his sword at him and spoke in a dismissive tone, demanding he hand over the Earth Sword, Brendel nearly couldn’t hold back from cleaving this fellow in half with one strike.
Let alone the fact that the other party then brazenly ignored him and mocked him as much as possible.
“Are you out of your mind?” Brendel took a deep breath; if this fellow was practicing how to attract hatred, he had to congratulate him—he had succeeded.
“I say,” Lawak seemed completely unaware of the approaching danger, thinking to himself how formidable a young man could be? He was a warrior of Toquinin, having attained golden-level combat strength over a decade ago; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been dispatched here to seek the divine weapon—thus he calmly responded to Brendel’s threat with a derisive smile: “Hand over your sword—”
Just as the word “hand” had just left his lips, Brendel had already launched a black line towards him, and the young lord raised his hand.
Only one sword swing.
(To be continued. For what happens next, please log in for more chapters, support the author, and read legally!)
