Chapter 399: Act 162 – The Gray Saint
The disoriented winter wolf pack was regrouping in front of the centaurs, like a wave of snow soon to surge forth, mercilessly engulfing Ward and his men.
At that moment, Antinna, Kuran, and Quinelle looked back in that direction, as did Ouding not far away. However, at this moment, clearly no one could utter a sound.
Once upon a time, Erluin had also sought such a belief with spirit.
Earl Ouding instinctively tightened his grip on his sword.
He turned back to Lobolen—perhaps it was divine favor or just sheer luck, but the fat man had surprisingly made it this far—and said, “Earl Lobolen, the embassy is entrusted to you.”
“Me?” Lobolen was taken aback. “Earl Ouding, what do you want to do?”
Ouding, expressionless, turned back, his eyes ignited with something that had never burned before in the past. He pointed his gleaming commander sword forward and shouted clearly:
“Knights of Erluin—!”
“Will you one day watch your comrades fight alone and die on the battlefield?”
The knights were momentarily stunned, gazing at their commander, instinctively taking a deep breath.
“No, we will not.”
“Because the flag of the lion flies high,” Ouding shouted, “the faith of the past has never faded.” He looked at all the knights, “So come with me; you are the sword of Erluin—”
Ouding turned and reentered the battlefield, with the knights shouting “For the Sword!” in response as the blue knights surged into the wolf pack. They were the knights of Erluin.
In that moment, Lobolen was actually dumbfounded, staring blankly at this scene and unable to utter a single word of protest.
Not just him; even Brendel was taken aback. However, as he watched these men, he felt a sudden pang in his nose. This was the faith of Erluin, which, though deeply decayed and corrupted, still shone with a light that made one long for it in the darkness.
That was the significance of so many people fighting for it.
It was also the reason countless players loved this land.
Many wrote such phrases on the forums: We are not strong, but we love it.
At this moment, Brendel suddenly recalled the meaning of the name of this country, for in the glorious past, Eke had named this land Erluin, meaning the promise of miracles.
If one did not believe in miracles, then Erluin would lose its meaning of existence.
He suddenly felt that he could not say a word, only raising the earth sword in his hand:
“Repal, hold the rear.”
The Fireclaw Lizardman Lord withdrew his gaze from the humans and centaurs, then deeply bowed to Brendel. For the first time in many days, he spoke:
“The true meaning of war lies in practicing a warrior’s honor, and what we fight for holds significant meaning in our Fireclaw Clan,” the Fireclaw Lizardman Lord said, lowering his head, “but in any case, pursuing faith is an exceptionally glorious thing.”
He raised his head. “So thank you, my lord, for giving us this opportunity to fight alongside such a group of people. The Fireclaw Clan will not disappoint you.”
After saying that, Repal gestured, and the Fireclaw Lizardmen entered the battlefield.
Brendel turned around.
“Let’s move on,” he said softly to Quinelle. Once they passed this last wolf pack, they would have crossed the first layer of the Loop of Trade Winds; next would be within the storm circle.
The treant leader had remained silent throughout, merely nodding quietly.
The group continued to advance, and after crossing the last line of defense of the winter wolves, the wolf pack ahead finally began to thin out. After experiencing several small skirmishes, the remaining members finally crossed over the Wolf’s Pass.
The so-called Wolf’s Pass was the dead end of the wolf disaster—after passing through the two towering peaks of the Karanjar Mountains, they would enter the inner regions of the Loop of Trade Winds.
That was within the storm circle.
As long as they could cross that storm wall next, they would truly have entered the core of the Loop of Trade Winds. In the storm circle, wolf disasters would not occur, but higher-level monsters lurked.
It was no longer suitable for the large squad to push forward—that is to say, the centaurs and druids’ mission had been accomplished up to this point.
However, the hundreds-strong team that had set out now had only about two hundred left, and even the young people in his group had lost over a third, despite the protection from Kuran and Xi.
Among the six young team leaders, one had died and one was severely injured. As their maiden battle, this outcome was not without brutality.
Let alone the fact that many others had sacrificed their lives for this—
Earl Ouding, Ward, and those knights of Erluin and centaur warriors, at this moment, Brendel could not help but glance back at the mountain gorge they had passed.
In that direction, a faint green light flashed in the dark sky, then finally disappeared.
Everything returned to darkness.
Seeing this scene, Brendel said nothing but felt a wave of loss in his heart.
Though he knew that many might pay with their lives when facing the wolf disaster, he found himself unprepared when everything happened around him.
He had thought that after all he had been through, he should have already hardened his heart to iron.
He turned his head and saw Antinna’s sparkling eyes looking at him. Brendel was slightly taken aback; he did not know what this aide thought—was it disappointment?
In his eyes, Antinna held very strict expectations of him, as if she always anticipated seeing a more perfect side of him.
A perfect lord?
But Brendel thought that he might never achieve that; he was simply himself, an ordinary person apart from possibly harboring some greedy or insufficient desires.
Compared to those who calculated every step meticulously, he perhaps seemed more like a lucky guy.
Even in the past, he was neither the best player nor the strongest warrior, was he?
Brendel blinked and sighed.
But that noble girl seemed to keenly sense what he was thinking. She looked at him and spoke softly, “I think, in fact, some things never have a correct answer, my lord.”
“Hmm?” Brendel was slightly startled. He looked at Antinna; it did not seem like something this noble girl would say.
“I have also been strict with myself,” Antinna merely smiled at Brendel—her lord, “but I think if one does not feel regret for something all the time, that would be a terrifying thing.”
“Because in any case, one cannot escape one’s emotions; I believe that is the nature of humanity,” she smiled, “but it is because of such or such discontent with ourselves that we can transcend ourselves…”
“So being beside such a genuine lord, I actually feel a bit more at ease.”
“You…” Brendel’s face flushed. “You know what I think?”
The noble lady clasped her hands behind her back and gently nodded to him. “After all, my lord, you and we are actually of the same kind.”
Brendel coughed softly, then turned around and saw Quinelle nodding at him from a distance.
“Mister Brendel,” the treant leader said, “Life is precious, so such sacrifices are worthy of respect.”
Brendel looked up and saw the flickering light pillars in the forest. Suddenly he said, “Here, so many people hold high the flame of civilization. But how many really fight for justice?”
He looked at Quinelle. “After all, I ally with you mostly to leverage your strength.”
“There are no genuinely pure-hearted individuals, Mister Brendel,” Quinelle replied while being vigilant of the surrounding forest, then turned back. “Can I ask you a question?”
“What question?”
“Mister Brendel, if you achieve your goal, and you only have to pay a small price to make the outcome better—for example, to save the Green Tower—would you do it?”
“Why not?” Brendel asked.
Quinelle turned back, smiled slightly, and spoke in ethereal elven tongue: “So, do you not understand yet, Mister Brendel? Kindness in your heart does not require grandiose declarations; it is already the most precious thing in the world.”
“So I said before, didn’t I? If it’s Mister Brendel, I believe we could become allies of the forest’s people.”
Brendel was slightly taken aback; he inhaled deeply, then nodded.
“But,” at this moment, Xi, who had been silent, quietly questioned, “Most people would think this, wouldn’t they? If it requires no effort…”
The older elf turned to look at her, waited a moment, then spoke, “If there were no desires of the majority, how could there be this civilized world?”
“What… do you mean?” the red-haired girl asked, confused.
“…If there were no hopes for kindness, we would not even speak, and without language, we would not need to communicate,” Quinelle replied, lifting his head as if suddenly recalling Ward—they had fought side by side for many years, often joking about who would take a step first—but never had he imagined that this day would come so suddenly.
The treant gently breathed in. “Without communication between souls, how are humans different from beasts?”
Xi was taken aback.
And the others fell silent.
But just then, a clear voice suddenly rang out from the nearby forest: “The difference between humans and beasts lies in their fear of firelight, while we yearn for brightness.”
“The flame of civilization burns fiercely in the wilderness, illuminating not only chaos but also human hearts.”
“It seems that for countless years, the heirs of the Flame King have forgotten this point.”
Accompanied by this voice, a man carrying a two-handed sword almost as tall as a person slowly walked out from the forest. He stopped in front of Brendel’s group and looked up at them.
The man lifted his gaze to each person, his peculiar gray eyes seeming dim, yet causing everyone’s hearts to skip a beat, as if they felt locked on by the other’s aura.
Who is this guy?
Kuran, Xi, and Quinelle simultaneously lifted their weapons; a strong presence suddenly appeared before them in the wilderness, looking every bit like an enemy.
But at that moment, only Brendel stood motionless.
Because he was almost staring at this individual in disbelief.
The Gray Saint, Mephistopheles.
……
(PS: Chapter Two, The Gray Saint’s utmost respect! Please give a vote!) (To be continued. For more details, please log in; for more chapters, support the author, support legitimate reading!)
