Chapter 411: Act 163 – Amann
The forest was already shrouded in thick fog, raising one’s head would reveal nothing of the sky. The figure of the Holy Being, the multi-headed dragon, was long concealed within the heavy mist, and no one knew if it still stood in the valley. However, Brendel suspected that at least part of it had evaporated; otherwise, the forest would not be so drenched in fog.
Figures soon approached through the mist, causing Brendel to pause slightly—these were not vaporized knights, but real humans. The knights wore golden-red cloaks adorned with fire raven insignia. Among them, a priest wore a golden-red silk robe, his triangular bishop’s mitre resting atop his head, with the fiery red letters ‘Flame’ embroidered onto the shoulder straps—clearly, only a regional priest of the Temple of Fire would wear such splendid attire.
Brendel recognized the individual with the wrinkled, eggplant-like old face: Amann, the high-ranking priest of Einck. He frowned inwardly—this guy was not someone to be trifled with—but displayed utmost humility on the surface. Brendel sheathed his sword, placed a hand on his chest, and slightly bowed: “Your Excellency, the Priest.”
Yet, his thoughts were: that damn bastard, how could the Temple send such a notorious figure out here? Don’t they fear offending the Druids?
Amann looked at the suddenly appeared young man, feeling satisfied. The young man’s attitude was a thousand times better than those mercenaries he’d encountered before. “Nobles are indeed nobles,” he thought, sizing up Brendel, “at least educated—though he appears to be from Erluin?” Amann was unaware that players had a knack for dealing with high-ranking NPCs like him, and Brendel’s reaction was almost second nature.
Even Xi looked curiously at her lord, feeling he might have been a bit too ‘unruly.’
Amann and his companions had actually come through the woods merely to confirm whether that earlier kind of monster was present. With not a single knight from the Temple by their side, only these trainee knights, Amann was extremely cautious. The earlier incident where Knight Raymond perished while battling the Holy Being had left everyone in shock; since the November War, the Temple hadn’t had a high-tier knight fall to the ‘Holy Flame’ in many years. Such a loss was truly dreadful.
Yet feeling the object pressed to his chest, Amann thought that Knight Raymond’s sacrifice hadn’t been in vain. He let out a quiet breath. The priest raised his head, his expression softening: “Young man, you are quite impressive. Which noble house do you hail from? Where is this place? How far is it to the Wolf’s Pass?”
Amann shot off three questions in one breath, and although he tried to restrain himself, Brendel could still sense the man’s inner tension.
What could a high-ranking priest possibly be nervous about?
Brendel was puzzled; could it only be because of that monster? But surely people from the Temple wouldn’t be intimidated just because a hundred or so of them were killed. Those guys were die-hard fanatics. Although Amann was lacking, he was at least someone with firm willpower, a trait common among those able to achieve high-ranking priesthood.
He lowered his head, not wanting to raise any suspicion: “I am Baron Fir, esteemed Excellency the Priest, you may have never heard of the impoverished land of Toniger; thus, my diminutive fame is hardly noteworthy—though may I ask your excellency, where is this place? But I do know we are not far from the Wolf’s Pass.”
Brendel spoke sweetly, hoping to send this guy on his way quickly. He was worried that Veronika might catch up at any moment; once she did, these folks from the Temple wouldn’t be on his side. But Brendel didn’t want to show his urgency and raise suspicions; it would be trivial if he were accused of disrespecting the Temple. Despite Amann’s seemingly gentle demeanor, he knew well what kind of a person he really was.
Amann nodded; the news that they were not far from the Wolf’s Pass energized him, and the weariness on his wrinkled face lessened. However, he felt it would be rude to leave without a word. Although the Temple was high and mighty, giving an impression of arrogance wouldn’t be good either. So, the high priest stepped back and said to Brendel, “Baron, we are in a rush to leave this area; might you join us?”
Brendel scoffed inwardly; the Temple typically acted independently. Although this guy invited him, his expression clearly spoke otherwise. But he didn’t mind; he simply shook his head: “Your Excellency should know I am also headed for the Lionheart Sword. Even if it is not meant to be, I wish to proceed without regrets.”
Amann nodded, suppressing the urge to place his thin, bony fingers on his chest to confirm that the object was still there, internally hoping that Brendel would refuse. However, upon hearing the mention of the Lionheart Sword, Amann looked up with curiosity: “Since that is the case, then we shall not interfere. Baron, your upbringing is exceptional; once we return to the Temple, I shall certainly write a letter to the king of your country to express my gratitude.”
Amann promised with a friendly demeanor, as if even his earlier grim mood had shifted.
Brendel smiled slightly, refraining from comment but appearing full of noble elegance. Yet he was cursing internally about why this guy was rambling on with so many formalities. Hurry up and leave! You’re still that greedy Amann, aren’t you? Please don’t ruin your own character! And, I have limited time; can’t you keep it brief?
After enduring his silent curses, Amann finally made enough pretense to take his leave. Unfortunately, fate had other plans. Just as the priest of the Einck region was about to depart, someone suddenly crashed through the dense underbrush behind him—it was none other than Veronika.
The Valkyrie from Cruz saw Brendel without a word and immediately swung her sword, unleashing a diagonal beam of light. Brendel hurriedly dodged, as the sword energy sliced through a black pine tree behind him, splitting it in two with a distinct crack.
With that single strike—
Amann and the Temple knights were left stunned; the priest’s eyebrows raised in anger, but as he recognized this woman, he instantly felt a shiver and swallowed back the words he was about to unleash. His status was high, but compared to the four commanders of Cruz, he was still lacking. Although he was similar in reputation, it was well-known that true power lay with those who commanded soldiers.
Moreover, Veronika wasn’t just any ordinary name; she hailed from one of Cruz’s twelve oldest families. From a power perspective, Amann could not match her. Perhaps a few of the wealthiest regional priests could stand on equal footing with her, but Amann surely was not one of them.
Recognizing that this woman was not to be provoked, he promptly turned back, casting a cold gaze at Brendel; his dull brown eyes clearly conveyed a question—what in the world was happening? Brendel could almost read that query in his gaze; his mood had shifted quicker than turning a page in a book.
After her strike, Veronika did not speak but instantly moved to Brendel’s side, reaching out to grab his shoulder. Brendel hastily dodged back to narrowly evade her, positioning himself in front of Xi as a precaution, fearing she might repeat her earlier attack. But this time, Veronika charged straight at him, missing with her first strike, she immediately attempted another.
Brendel found no way to evade and could only raise the Earth Sword, creating a barrier of rock spikes to keep Veronika at bay. However, Vernika was already fueled with rage and with a single powerful punch, created a hole in the wall of rock spikes and extended her hand toward Brendel’s shoulder.
Priest Amann, watching the two fight from the side, couldn’t help but twitch his brow slightly, especially when Brendel’s Earth Sword triggered phenomena that caught his attention.
Brendel was well aware that his abilities were far below those of the Cruz Valkyrie; at that moment, he could no longer care about appearances. He leaned back and rolled to the side, the uneven ground of the forest causing pain in his back, but he endured it, immediately shouting, “Xi!”
Xi understood instantly and hurriedly moved to escape to the side. Brendel’s charge cooldown was nearly over; he threw down a Fate card on the ground—of course, no one could see it—everyone only witnessed an iridescent crimson magic circle suddenly appear on the ground, from which a massive fire giant surged forward, directly barreling toward Veronika.
This sudden attack surprised Veronika; she instinctively attempted to retreat, but sensed that the fire giant was merely of silver rank. Assuming Brendel was merely trying to stall for time, she hesitated but then charged straight for the fire giant, ready to deliver a lethal blow with her acclaimed sword, the Azure Sky.
Little did she know this plan was precisely what Brendel hoped for; while retreating, he snapped his fingers at the fire giant: “Explode!”
A flare of golden light burst from the fire giant’s body, unleashing immense power that caused Veronika’s expression to change drastically. This was an elemental being of silver rank, instantly releasing all of its magical power and fire elements, generating tremendous force that almost transcended the elemental threshold.
Then came a thunderous sound; a blinding light filled everyone’s vision, compelling them all to shut their eyes. Only Brendel, prepared for the moment, seized the opportunity to flee toward the direction of the forest embedded in his memory. But at that moment, he heard the familiar voice of Priest Amann:
“Holy Word. Wall!”
Brendel immediately felt an inexplicable force barring his way behind him. He didn’t need to turn around to know what it was; that translucent wall of light was one of the few control spells known to priests. Brendel quickly halted; this holy word spell constructed light wall surpassed a hundred meters in length, yet was less than ten meters high. He raised his sword upward, causing a rock spike to violently shoot up from the ground. Brendel planned to use the spike to vault over the light wall, but the next moment a cutting wind approached; a dazzling white sword energy flashed through the middle of the just-grown rock spike, snapping it in two with a crisp sound.
Brendel’s plans had thus fallen short, and when he turned back, he found Veronika had already recovered from the earlier explosion.
…(To be continued. For what happens next, please log in. More chapters await, support the author, support legitimate reading!)
