Chapter 396: Act 151 – The Unfolding Curtain (First Update)
The monks of the Temple cleared a path through the forest, though it was uncertain where they had led the unknown monster. However, Brendel had no courage to follow; who knew if that BOSS would turn back?
As a lord-level monster, the entire Loop of Trade Winds perimeter fell within its active range. Brendel knew that as long as he remained within the Loop, the chances of encountering the BOSS were extremely high.
Moreover, according to the established rules of the Amber Sword, the deeper one ventured into the center, the more likely they were to alert that BOSS. Completing the task in Valhalla would clearly not be easy.
Fortunately, the Temple had excellent Grey Knights as scouts, but the scouts under Brendel’s command were no slouches either, with the fire-clawed lizardmen proving to be slightly superior — they were not the most professional scouts, but the mental connection between a traveling mage and summoned creatures played a unique role in such an environment.
The mental connection had no distance limit and no time delay, allowing Brendel to greatly expand the fire-clawed lizardmen’s alert range compared to ordinary scouts. To make this alert circle even tighter, Brendel also showcased the fire-claw hornblower card — once the crimson lizardman with the long horn entered, the card immediately activated its special ability, summoning another squad of fire-clawed assault spearmen into the field.
Ropal’s fire-clawed assault spearmen suddenly doubled in number; luckily, as they were previously somewhat hidden from view, their sudden increase did not raise suspicions.
With the fire-clawed lizards, countless wind spirit spiders, over thirty rock leopards, two shadow stone beasts, and the black wolf lord, Brendel had established an impenetrable early warning system.
The first ambush on the team leaving the Temple of Fire hit around noon, marking the third phase of the traveler mage’s six-stage day. Brendel oriented the Embers Volcano to proliferate the number of fire elements in the elemental pool, while also drawing a card for Baron Blood.
Unfortunately, the bright sun at this stage did not allow for the use of black cards; otherwise, Brendel would have decisively played this card to establish top-tier scouts.
The bloodline was renowned for speed, and combined with the traveler’s ability, it could be said to be the top land scouts in this world, not to mention they could also fly short distances.
As he finished drawing his cards and looked up, he noticed the mist in the mountains began to settle, white vapor twisting and curling low among the trees. In fact, the few powerful individuals present who had entered the Golden Realm had already sensed the increasing instability in the air.
It was as if the chaotic sea was rising beneath the elemental boundary, causing the light of the black moon to shine brilliantly. A new era of magic was dawning, the strongest in a thousand years, akin to the ebb and flow of tides, roaring across the world.
The chaotic power was becoming evident, with the most notable change being the sudden drop in temperature in the hills of Thorn Ridge, as if winter had arrived within just a few hours, causing frost to accumulate visibly on the tree trunks under their gaze.
This evoked a chilling thought — Frost Tide, one of the most terrifying natural disasters on the outskirts of the Black Forest, could plunge temperatures below freezing in a matter of hours. Without proper protection, the extreme cold could kill any creature caught within its influence.
Even monsters were not exempt.
Except for one.
The winter wolf.
“Frost Tide!”
“The Frost Tide is here!” The centaurs swiftly produced a crystal ball-like pendant, woven with gold threads and containing a small flame inside.
This flame could not create a realm of order, but like a torch in the dark, it could stabilize a small area of chaos.
Adventurers leaving the Green Tower needed to carry such small flames to delve deeper into the forest; otherwise, the harsh weather would claim the lives of anyone who ventured too far in.
Unfortunately, not everyone understood this principle.
The centaurs ignited a flame, and a beam of light shot into the sky. Brendel looked up to see dark clouds gathering overhead. Martha’s ‘Tiamat’ was a transparent halo that had disintegrated into outer gears miles above the clouds.
Dark magic was converging, like massive tentacles blocking out the sky, while deep blue light in the southern horizon flickered like flashes of lightning.
The magic tide was coming.
Brendel also produced a flame from his pocket; he certainly could not forget such an important matter. After activating two incantations with his thumb and forefinger, the runes lit up, and the flame in his hand flickered.
Then, a beam of light soared toward heaven.
Brendel glanced up as the beam pierced through the black clouds, like a sharp spike thrusting from the earth toward the sky. The beam flashed faintly in his hand, complementing the one the centaur group had ignited not far away.
Centaurs’ elder Ward turned back in surprise, perhaps not expecting this young man to be so knowledgeable as to prepare such a thing.
Not every adventurer had experience in exploring the Black Forest, and only seasoned veterans would prepare adequately, keeping calm in the face of the forest’s terrifying powers.
Then a third beam of light appeared, the flame ignited by Quinelle.
The creation of a small flame was not difficult; in past games, it cost only a few thousand Tor, making it a matter of a single ember agate here.
“Have you been to the Black Forest before?” Elder Ward inquired as he approached.
Brendel did not respond directly, “The Frost Tide is only the prelude; at least it heralds the second wave of attacks from the winter wolf pack.” Historically, the first wave of wolves was the shadows, the second wave was the plague; this time the order was slightly different, and Brendel thought it might be due to the NPCs here differing from those in history.
A slight change in order could influence the current course of history within the Black Forest.
He felt a few bone-chilling snowflakes strike his face, melting instantaneously; these snowflakes were hard as steel outside the flame’s illuminated range but quickly melted as they entered that sphere of influence.
“The second wave of wolves?”
Brendel nodded and then looked up, “The magic tide is upon us.”
“What?”
“Take a closer look; you might not see such a spectacular scene again in your lifetime.” Brendel replied, gazing into the sky.
Ward turned and looked up as well.
Then a gust of wind seemed to arise suddenly from the ground, swirling up countless dead branches and grass, forming a massive wind curtain.
The raging wind swept through the undulating mountains, rushing at everyone’s faces, kicking up leaves and branches in chaos.
At that moment, everyone instinctively looked up, their hair blowing wildly, astonished to see the gusts carrying layers of leaves from the treetops skyward, as if countless leaves were floating and converging into a black river suspended in the sky between the mountains.
The river was moving forward —
The dancing leaves resembled a black army marching.
And high above the sky,
Thick dark clouds rolled, the clouds surged like tides toward a gap in the middle of the sky — the entire horizon rippled, and everyone’s eyes reflected stripes of purple lightning darting through the clouds, illuminating the cloud tops, yet with no accompanying thunder.
Only the silent flashes of lightning.
Brendel turned back and suddenly saw another beam of light shoot upward — crimson, so immense, it must have been the flame from the Temple of Fire.
However, in the darkness, this beam seemed to awaken its fellow dormant ones in the forest, one after another. Within moments, Brendel’s eyes reflected dozens of beams.
Orange-red, Crusian — their control of fire’s order was still not as pure as that of the Temple of Fire, despite claiming to be descendants of the Fire King Gilt.
But the gold from the Eagle Empire added intensity to the fire, a coloring that was enough to make them proud.
Light green, another Druid, perhaps?
Then blue, were even the wind spirits arriving? Brendel couldn’t help but mutter. He couldn’t understand the massive allure of the Lionheart Sword, but what he failed to consider was that he had triggered an artifact reaction back then.
Faced with an artifact, no nation could remain indifferent.
There were several light red beams; Brendel thought they must belong to the knight orders of certain principalities. As for the grey ones, they were naturally from the adventurers and mercenaries without affiliations.
The flame in Brendel’s hand had been purchased from the Green Tower. The Druids tended to create flames that were nature’s resilience and gentleness, thus maintaining a light green hue, which resembled that of Ward and Quinelle not far away.
In total, there were some thirty to forty flames in the forest.
Yet more adventurers, unprepared, met their demise in the extreme cold. Outside the range of the flames, the temperature dropped at an unbelievable speed; trees first amassed a layer of frost, then branches transformed into ice crystals, falling down, while the sky began to snow, turning the world white in just a few minutes.
Ordinary people under golden rank could perish in mere minutes in such conditions, and even golden-ranked individuals could only last a day or two. Only those empowered by the elemental forces would remain unaffected.
Brendel inhaled deeply, his mind oddly wavering upon witnessing this sight — not out of fear or tension, but because it resembled a scene he had experienced before. It was as if time had reversed, returning him to the game, fighting side by side with the first wave of pioneers.
That had not been his story.
But now it was.
He gazed farther ahead, where the flames of the Rose Wall had dimmed, the towering light flickering in and out of existence. But since the wolf pack hadn’t yet attacked that outpost, there wouldn’t be much strength to follow.
The Druids of the Rose Wall had managed to hold on, a tribute to the combined efforts of the many factions in this direction.
Further on, the lights of the Green Tower shone like a beacon in the night, with that massive flame projecting a beam steady as a golden sword thrust into the dark sky; however, of the twelve outposts surrounding the Green Tower, aside from the northernmost seven, most had either dimmed or extinguished.
Chaos brought thunder and snow, the weather in the distance became bizarre; in some places, torrential rain poured over the mountains, in others lightning flashed, and the sky even revealed slender tendrils.
Those were tornadoes.
Just as Brendel turned back in that moment, he saw a massive beam of light flicker and then extinguish. One flame had gone out forever, snuffing out countless life flames alongside it.
The slight advantage of the Rose Wall could not mask the precariousness of the Druids’ entire defensive line. Brendel recalled that historically, the Druids had only managed to withstand four waves of attacks with the players’ help. If it weren’t for the activation of Valhalla, this time, the wolf calamity in the Black Forest would have turned this region into ruins.
“So,” Brendel turned back and said, “the second wave of attacks is coming; we need to hurry. This forest is becoming dangerous.”
As he spoke, Brendel couldn’t help but furrow his brow. The winter wolf pack was quite troublesome; winter wolves were a high-level monster. Although their numbers might be fewer than the black wolves, they were far more terrifying.
The Northerners refer to the winter wolves in the forest as specters that breathe frost and mist; this was not an exaggeration.
If they lagged even a moment in this forest, it would lead to fatal consequences.
“That place…” Ward stared at the spot where the beam had vanished, momentarily stunned.
“Hmm?”
(PS: Wow, I’m still late, huddling down in defense — = =, I’m posting two chapters first; I will continue writing, and if I don’t finish the third chapter by 11 o’clock, no need to wait for it. I’ll put it up early tomorrow instead — SO, I’m still two chapters behind!) (To be continued; for those wishing to know what happens next, please log in, more chapters await, support the author, support legitimate reading!)
