Chapter 375: Act 132 – Brendel’s Response (Second Update)
“I say,” Lawak was completely unaware of the approaching danger. It thought, how formidable could a young man possibly be? As a warrior of Toquinin, it had possessed golden-tier combat power for over a decade; otherwise, it wouldn’t have been dispatched here to search for artifacts. Therefore, facing Brendel’s threat, it merely shrugged and replied nonchalantly, “Let me take your sword—”
Just as it finished the word “take,” Brendel had already launched a dark line towards it, raising his hand.
With just one sword.
There was no military swordplay, no White Crow sword techniques, and Brendel did not employ any flashy moves—his dark sword blade shot out like a meteor towards Lawak. The golden-maned lionman’s expression changed, and it immediately raised its sword to defend itself.
Unfortunately for it, Brendel’s eruption of power and straightforward breakthrough awaited, and in a fit of rage, Brendel unleashed these two tremendously exhausting skills without reservation for the first time.
The master-level power outbreak tripled his strength instantaneously to 443 energy level, while the 30% output enhancement from the Phantom Knight Crystal further amplified this power into the elemental domain.
Everyone saw the moment the Earth Sword in Brendel’s hand seemed to refract in the air and curve automatically before crashing against the broad sword in Lawak’s hand with a loud “bang.”
It was a sound that sent chills down one’s spine—
At that moment, it felt as if time had slowed; the towering golden-maned lionman watched helplessly as the broad sword in its hand bent backward to the limit, cracked, broke, and shattered into pieces, with metal shards shooting back like steel needles, striking its body.
Under normal circumstances, these shards would never have harmed its body, which had entered the golden tier; yet at this moment, each of these steel needles seemed to carry the same power and pierced into it.
It let out a scream.
But this scream had barely escaped its lips before it abruptly halted.
The powerful force had sent the tall lionman flying—it bent backward at the waist due to the incredible force, entirely pulling its upper body along with its flesh and spine away from its lower half, before flying far away, dragging along its incomplete legs.
It shot a blood streak into the forest.
With a muffled thud.
At this moment, the others finally regained their senses from a state of shock. The closest lionmen near Lawak instinctively drew their swords, wanting to rush forward, but they were met with an even more tragic fate.
“Earth, grant me a blade!” Brendel roared.
Then, a tremendous sound echoed.
Centered on the long sword swung by Brendel, the ground tore as sharp rocks erupted from the earth within a hundred meters. Like a torrential storm, spears of stone, two to three meters long and as thick as a bowl, formed out of thin air, pointing towards the sky.
The sword-rock shattered, scattering in all directions, and in an instant, a forest of razor-sharp blades formed, covering thousands of feet in diameter.
More than twenty golden-maned lions were pierced simultaneously, turning into porcupines.
…
Plop.
The short sword in the hands of the black-haired alchemist Rono fell to the ground, as he stared in disbelief at the scene unfolding outside the forest, momentarily speechless.
The golden-haired noble girl, Faina, was even more stunned. Her fair face had several splatters of blood from where the half-corpse of a golden-maned lion had flown past her.
If it were any other time, Faina would have been disgusted to the core, yet at this moment, she didn’t even have the courage to make a sound or blink.
Among them, only Viscount Alman appeared somewhat calm, though upon seeing Brendel’s strike, his heart still raced heavily, with only one thought in his mind: it’s a good thing he hadn’t personally sought trouble with that guy.
He had witnessed Duchess Veronika’s swordsmanship, which was indeed impressive in its momentum, but it lacked such shocking power.
When Brendel struck, that unstoppable force was something they could almost feel from a hundred meters away, like a chilling wind and a storm of blood assaulting them.
As if that one sword could pierce through each of their hearts, leading to sudden cardiac arrest.
It was the ultimate pressure before power.
“This… this…” Rono stammered, “Casting dual sword arts…!”
Alman’s complexion shifted several times.
…
But among those whose expressions changed the most were the several Erluin nobles beside Brendel. They had initially thought Brendel’s earlier words might have been exaggerated.
But now, those standing there were as if petrified, with strange expressions, unable to utter a single sound.
The rotund Count Lobolen on the ground opened his mouth, seeming to want to say something, but his voice got stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t get a single word out.
Earl Ouding had maintained a stance ready to draw his sword. He had prepared to take action the moment he sensed something was off, but upon seeing Brendel’s strike, he felt as if the sword in his hand weighed a thousand pounds, and he couldn’t draw it no matter what.
This guy is an Erluin noble?
When did Erluin produce such a crazy character?
Brendel held the pose of drawing his sword for almost two seconds, then finally exhaled, recovering his breath. The consumption from the force eruption and breakthrough was too great; if it weren’t for his indomitable talent, he suspected he wouldn’t have stayed stiff for just two seconds.
Even so, during the time he was immobilized, not a single golden-maned lion dared to approach.
Eliminating Lawak in one blow was something they could accept, but the terrifying Earth Blade was truly too terrifying; the ground within a hundred meters had been upheaved in an instant, and the sight of countless stone teeth erupting from beneath struck at the very core of everyone’s hearts.
Magic Warrior?
Or dual sword arts?
Once Brendel put down the Earth Sword, those rising stone teeth also collapsed into dust. He then coldly glanced at the golden-maned lions who had hesitated to approach.
Over a hundred golden-maned lions surrounded him in a semicircle, yet at that moment, no one dared to take a step forward.
“When my ancestor Eke was alive, he surely did not expect that one day his descendants would be mocked by a bunch of beasts.” Brendel turned back and looked at the Erluin delegates, saying, “Erluin’s lost glorious banner, those glories that once waved on the battlefield, do you think you can recover them?”
Brendel’s voice was not loud, but it had a neutral tone.
Yet those nobles found themselves unable to utter a rebuttal, whether it was the plump fellow on the ground, Earl Ouding, or that scholarly woman.
Lobolen glanced at Toquinin’s golden-maned lions, then at Brendel, feeling reluctant but unable to say a word.
The scholarly woman lowered her head, remaining silent.
Only Ouding silently drew his sword.
At this moment, the surviving golden-maned lionman officer finally reacted. Though Brendel’s strike had stunned everyone present, it also exposed his strength.
Golden tier—
Though his combat power at just over twenty was indeed astonishing, unfortunately, this did not change the power dynamics on the battlefield. One or two golden-tier existences could not turn the tide; the golden-maned lionman officer knew that behind him were at least hundreds of silver-tier lower-grade warriors, not to mention that it and another captain were also golden-tier existences.
Among these humans, there was only this young man and Earl Ouding who were golden-tier warriors; the others were inconsequential.
The golden-maned lionman officer thought this way. It needed to end the fight before the druids arrived: “Eliminate them! Avenge Lord Lawak!”
It roared.
The roar awakened all the golden-maned lions, and after a wave of commotion, they surged forward once more.
But this time, they would face not just Brendel alone. The young people in the forest had already noticed the commotion when the Erluin delegation came into conflict with Brendel. Individuals like Carglis, who thrived on chaos, had rushed over long ago.
And upon Brendel’s unsheathing of the sword, they knew battle was about to start.
The sound of blades being drawn echoed.
Earl Ouding walked behind Brendel, tossing aside his sword sheath, saying, “Let’s deal with these nuisances first. A conflict has arisen here, and our people will likely arrive soon. Just hold out for a bit.”
Brendel replied without looking back, “Hold out?”
Ouding paused.
But Brendel had already glanced at the golden-maned lions, expressionless, shouting, “Carglis, Kuran, Repal, Xi,” pointing his longsword forward.
“Eliminate them all!”
“As you wish, Lord.” This was Carglis’s response.
“Lord!” Xi seemed to have been waiting for this command, stepping in front of Brendel with her Thunder Spear crackling with electricity.
Elemental manifestation, yet another golden tier! The golden-maned lionman officer felt his eyelids twitch.
However, it quickly realized that Xi was not the greatest threat on the battlefield—Lord Repal, the Fireclaw Lizardman, maintained his usual silence. He merely took a step forward, turned, and used his massive tail to sweep back the golden-maned lions charging from the left flank.
Then this tall lizardman swung his dual-headed sword, unleashing flames that turned a line of golden-maned lions to ash simultaneously.
In just one exchange, the golden-maned lions lost a squad.
Then he raised his head, standing like a high wall on the battlefield, and the golden-maned lions blocked in front of him were all deterred by his imposing momentum—yet Repal wasn’t one for idle chatter; he simply pointed his index finger among his three fingers forward.
Dozens of Fireclaw Lizardmen poured out from behind him like a flood breaking through a dam.
Only Kuran walked leisurely to Brendel’s side, his longsword drawn, asking, “It seems I haven’t agreed to work under you yet, kid?”
“Is that so?” Brendel retorted.
“At least I haven’t agreed to take your orders.”
“This isn’t my command.”
“Oh?” Kuran was taken aback.
Brendel glanced at Earl Ouding before asking, “Excuse me, Lord Earl, in the time of the former lord, did anyone dare to insult the Erluin delegation?”
He inquired.
Ouding was slightly stunned and shook his head.
“So,” Brendel’s Earth Sword instantly ignited with fiery flames, yet he still turned back and asked, “Earl Ouding, let’s give Erluin a response with the swords in our hands, shall we?”
Ouding looked at him, shook his head with a wry smile, “No problem.”
Brendel turned back to Kuran.
Kuran said nothing, tossing aside his sword sheath, and a whirling blue breeze surrounded his body.
In the distance, Alman felt a twitch in his brow—elemental manifestation, golden mid-tier, yet another one—when did Erluin have so many experts…
…
(PS: I didn’t realize I would return this late when I went out this morning, so I’m releasing two chapters at once. Also, it’s the start of a new month tomorrow; you know what that means—get your votes ready!) (To be continued. For more chapters, please log in to support the author and enjoy legitimate reading!)
