Chapter 400: Act 155 – A Terrible Misunderstanding! (Will writing the fourth update get me in trouble…?)
Across the vast land of Vaunte, there have been countless legendary figures known to players, some of whom are renowned great sword saints, like Veronika, known as the Goddess of War, or Darus, the Earth Sword Saint who can cleave mountains with a single strike, and even the now-unknown Bud, who would become a great sword master in the future.
There are legendary wizards as well, such as Silver Fortress Turiman, the King of Scrolls William, and the Ironmonger Kayla.
Or perhaps unparalleled genius generals, such as Black Earl Instalung, Falcon Nicholas, Lord Halston, and Valkyrie Freya.
Yet among these individuals, none are as revered as Gray Saint Mephistopheles.
The reason is simple.
As the only one in the Vaunte world daring enough to declare war on an empire single-handedly, his sheer audacity is enough to earn anyone’s admiration.
Brendel remembers it was nearly thirty years ago, when the invincible Cruzian people, after a series of victories, utterly crushed all resistance from a small nation called the Duchy of Sutherland, seamlessly integrating this small border state into the empire’s territory.
In the thousand-year history of war for the Cruz people, this seemed like just a minor checkpoint, one that should have gone unnoticed.
However, this time the Eagle Empire encountered a formidable foe.
In the Year of the Howling, Gray Saint Mephistopheles emerged on the Cruzian horizon. His first appearance was during the Battle of the Royal Capital, attempting to assassinate the supreme leader of the Empire single-handedly.
Of course, he did not succeed.
However, in this conflict, Mephistopheles single-handedly annihilated an entire detachment of the Cruzian Imperial Cavalry, a border defense army, and two squads of the Royal Capital’s garrison.
Three barons, one earl, over twenty lieutenants, and three times that number of cadets from the Imperial Officers Academy perished at the hands of this Gray Saint.
If the loss of three barons and one earl merely brought shame to the Empire, the casualties of those two squads of cadets genuinely enraged the supreme leader of the Empire at the time.
The cadets of the Royal Capital’s garrison were undoubtedly the elite of the Empire, future pillars of strength, and yet to have two entire squads wiped out by Mephistopheles was painful for even a wealthy empire like Cruz.
What happened next was beyond everyone’s expectations.
In a fit of rage, the Empire dispatched the most powerful capture force in history, led by the commanders of the four legions, the president of the Royal Alchemist Association, and even three royal magicians from the Tower of Stars and Moon.
As for the strength of this group, one only needs to know that Veronika, the commander of the Azure Sky legion, was the least experienced among them, to imagine the caliber of the extraordinary individuals in this team.
Yet this lineup still allowed Mephistopheles to escape heavily injured.
This incident not only humiliated the Cruzian people, it was like an enormous slap in the face of the once-invincible Cruz, and it sent shockwaves throughout the entire Vaunte.
Following this event, the Wind Queen Temple and the Sanctuary powers scrambled to seek out Mephistopheles, hoping to leverage his hatred for Cruz to bring him into their ranks. Unfortunately, after that, he seemed to vanish, never to be seen again.
Rumors spread that he had succumbed to his injuries, but Brendel knew this was just a joke, as Mephistopheles later became involved in a significant quest line within the Amber Sword, and players were already thoroughly familiar with this character.
However, Brendel never expected this guy to appear ahead of time.
Historically, his next appearance was nearly five years later!
Thus, the moment he laid eyes on Mephistopheles, only one thought filled his mind: Does that damn Lionheart Sword really have such a great attraction that it draws in even this old pervert!
Brendel was left dumbfounded, staring at the man before him, feeling as though if his eyeballs could pop out, they would have already done so.
At this moment, Mephistopheles wore a gray robe with a cloak, his sword still on his back, and what truly highlighted his features were his long gray hair and gray pupils.
There was hardly a second human in this world with such unique hair and eye color.
This unique appearance was a result of the elemental influence he bore: the Gray Song. It was a peculiar element, but anyone who truly fought him would think otherwise.
Brendel had only fought Mephistopheles once, during a mission for warriors to complete the Black Iron Body task—where the goal was simple: to withstand ten seconds against Mephistopheles.
He recalled his first attempt at that task involved maximizing every buff he could take, only to be defeated in three moves and returned to the resurrection altar.
This wasn’t merely about level suppression; to be honest, even at his peak, Mephistopheles was only around level seventy or eighty, but his swordsmanship was nothing short of terrifying.
The title of Gray Saint was merely an appellation for Mephistopheles, yet many players regarded him as the only NPC who had truly mastered basic sword techniques to a realm above level twenty-five.
While this rumor may not be credible, it was enough to illustrate the sheer horror of his swordsmanship, surpassing the limits of strength.
As Brendel stared at Mephistopheles, his mind raced. Although he wasn’t entirely clear on the man’s personality, he knew instinctively that this guy was definitely not easygoing, considering the things he had done.
With such a figure blocking their path, was he an enemy or a friend? It seemed very hard to say.
What puzzled him was that historically, Mephistopheles held a favorable view of Erluin people, and there were no entanglements with Druids, so logically he shouldn’t be at odds with them.
Yet it was difficult to contend that he wasn’t an enemy.
Brendel glanced at Gray Saint Mephistopheles, standing directly in front of them, and began to find his reasoning somewhat unreliable.
But at the very least, he understood that in the presence of such a powerful being, his judgment held little significance, wholly dependent on the other’s mood. Thus, Brendel decided to remain silent and make no moves, so as not to provoke this fellow, merely lifting his head to gaze at him.
The scene fell into silence for several seconds—
While Brendel scrutinized Mephistopheles, the Saint was doing the same to their group; his gaze first swept over the few remaining Erluin nobles and then landed on Brendel.
“Cruzian?”
Mephistopheles extended his hand, seeming as if the massive sword behind him flew into his grasp. He then pointed the sword tip towards Brendel and asked.
Brendel was taken aback.
Staring in disbelief at Mephistopheles, it felt as though he had heard some earth-shattering announcement, and he suddenly felt cold sweat pouring down his back.
What kind of joke is this?
He thought to himself, Cruzian? I’m just a well-loved Minotaur of the crowd.
Yet to be mistaken for a Cruzian by this guy, based on his behavior, would likely mean immediate severance.
Brendel, of course, didn’t want to die so inexplicably, so after a moment of shock, he hurriedly shook his head, “No, no,” he replied, “Sir, I think you’ve mistaken me. I am a true Erluin person.”
“Erluin?” Mephistopheles looked at Brendel and replied, “You look somewhat like one, but Erluin people wouldn’t use Frost Legion tactics. Tell me, are you from the Frost Legion?”
It was then that Brendel realized his earlier suggestion to the centaurs to employ the Frost Legion tactic against the Winter Wolves had attracted this weirdo’s attention; at that moment, he felt more wronged than Dou E, knowing that in the past, even if players from Erluin didn’t use that tactic, players from Madara would as well.
It was merely a test of experience, without any technical secrets involved; as long as you found and watched any random video online, it would be clear as day.
But there was no way to explain this, and Brendel could only stammer, “Sir, there are plenty of people who understand that tactic. After all, tactics are dead, but people are alive; not only Erluins can deal with Winter Wolves, right?”
Brendel felt his excuse was poor but had no loopholes. The fact was, even in this world, many understood Frost Legion tactics. It was not a secret; even Earl Ouding would do so.
But unexpectedly, Mephistopheles showed no signs of wavering; instead, he wore a smile that seemed to say, ‘Everything is under my control, so don’t bother denying it.’
Then he looked at Brendel and said, “Indeed, you may be the first young man I have ever met to apply this tactic more skillfully than the Frost Legion commander.”
“I have heard,” he continued, “that besides Cruz, Erluin hasn’t suffered from a wolf plague from Winter Wolves, right?”
Huh?
In that moment, Brendel felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his head, with only one voice echoing in his mind: Being naturally dim-witted can be fatal!
“I’m aggrieved!” Brendel felt he could only cry without tears. He never expected that the tactics he had practiced repeatedly to gain experience in the game would now become a fatal flaw.
Yet reality seemed to be just as Mephistopheles understood; Brendel quickly discovered he was unable to explain clearly.
How could one explain how an Erluin could so adeptly employ tactics against Winter Wolves?
Not to mention that this was something fundamentally illogical.
Moreover, and more importantly, even if an Erluin wanted to practice, as Mephistopheles said—he would need a place to train, wouldn’t he?
Brendel couldn’t help rubbing his hands together, his expression turning somewhat awkward. In fact, he had always thought that his experience was a tremendous golden finger, but he never expected that one day this golden finger would bring him enormous trouble.
Lady Martha, do you really have to do this? Aren’t you just messing with me!
The young lord had a strange expression, unable to speak his troubles as he looked at Mephistopheles, inwardly lamenting, “I’m being truthful, Gray Saint! Can’t you cut me some slack? I can explain!”
……
(PS: Alright, this is actually the third update. I’ll try to finish what I owe tomorrow, and if I’m loving enough, I’ll give you a little treat the day after!) (To be continued… For more chapters, please log in and support the author through legitimate reading!)
