Chapter 426: Act 178 – The Battle in the Canyon (Part 2)
The branch road leading downward was now in sight. However, rather than a road, it resembled a series of naturally sculpted rocks protruding from the cliff, making it hard to say whether it was a human achievement.
It would have been miraculous for humans to complete such a project on a sheer cliff, even without fierce winds. But at this moment, it could only be described as a miracle.
“Lady Veronika, give me the Lionheart Sword! I’ll go down; you all run from above!” Brendel shouted as he ran, his voice somewhat garbled by the howling wind.
“The Lionheart Sword?”
Veronika realized with sudden comprehension that Brendel’s gaze was fixed on the Azure Sky in her hand. She looked at him in disbelief, but he nodded at her.
With one hand resting on her sword, the lady hesitated for a moment. Ultimately, she threw it, and Brendel caught the sword midair before dashing towards the mountain path leading into the abyss.
Andisha, who was lagging behind, momentarily froze at the sight. She considered whether to follow, but despite her doubts, the mention of the Lionheart Sword piqued her interest, and she certainly wouldn’t give up on the dark divine blood.
“Lord!”
The female sword saint grabbed Xi, “Don’t go!”
“Let go of me!”
Veronika was stunned as she looked at the red-haired girl with a long ponytail. Xi’s fierce gaze reminded her of a wolf pup, showing off sharp teeth that seemed ready to bite at any moment.
Veronika paused but couldn’t help but laugh nervously in such a tense situation.
“Ah, it’s clear you really care about your lord.”
Oh! Xi panicked, momentarily forgetting to struggle.
By now, Brendel had already run far ahead. When she turned back, it was too late to chase after him, and Andisha passed by not far off, not forgetting to whip her vine in their direction.
Veronika hurriedly pushed Xi aside and rolled to dodge the whip. She got up, realizing Andisha was chasing after Brendel, who had already vanished from view, with only a thick fog left behind.
As Brendel landed on a sharp rock, he suddenly remembered that he was still holding Faina, who seemed startled and shivering uncontrollably.
“W-why didn’t you put me down just now—”
The young lady’s voice trembled in the wind.
“Miss, do you want me to put you down now?”
Brendel jumped forward, weaving between the sharp protruding rocks, still finding time to talk.
“No!!”
“Hey, I asked, do you want me to or not?”
“You—wait until I get back and tell my father to chop you into pieces!”
“Wow, I’m so scared. How about I make sure you can’t go back at all?”
“You dare!?”
Brendel loosened his grip, which made Faina instantly scream and clutch his neck tightly. He felt his hand getting wet; it was her tears, and he realized with shock that he had frightened the noble lady to the point of tears.
“Wuwuwu, you bastard…”
What a sin! However, Brendel felt no remorse; instead, he felt he had vented quite a bit of frustration since this young lady had indeed caused him plenty of trouble—most recently just a few minutes ago.
He couldn’t help but take a glance back at Andisha, now rapidly chasing through the fog. She was climbing the cliff with remarkable speed, using her vines as hands and feet, closing in on them.
At a distance of about several dozen meters—
From that distance, Andisha’s whip swooshed through the air, and something flew over. Brendel was alert and leaped away just in time.
The whip struck the rock, carving off a section like a knife’s edge.
However, Andisha entering the attack range so quickly concerned him. The Decaying Lord was much faster than him, and at this rate, he would definitely be caught.
He looked up at the sharp rocks protruding from the cliff, one after another, and there were no places to take advantage of. But at that moment, Faina wiped her red eyes and said, a bit irritated:
“Hey, your scabbard hit me!”
“Scabbard?”
Brendel realized that he was still holding Veronika’s Azure Sky, and a light bulb went off in his head; he suddenly had a plan.
“Good idea!”
“Wh-what?”
“Thanks to your reminder, I came up with a great idea.”
“Great idea? What nonsense are you talking about?”
Faina was momentarily stunned when she suddenly felt her body lighten, as if she was flying. Worried, she looked back, only to see Brendel leaping into the abyss like a bird.
The noble girl’s mouth dropped open—she couldn’t make a sound, feeling more thrill than she ever had in her life, as if her heart would leap out of her throat.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhh—”
The prolonged scream descended into the valley like a meteor, whipping past her. Faina felt the strong wind rush at her face, her tears streaming out—not, it should be said, flying out.
She thought she was going to die, that she would die in the next moment.
However, Brendel was not seeking death; he suddenly drew his sword from its sheath and plunged it backwards into the cliff—there was a sharp sound as the Azure Sky sank into the rock, leaving a bright golden spark in its wake.
Their falling speed came to an abrupt halt, hovering in mid-air, but they had already descended a long way, leaving Andisha far behind.
Brendel had set his eyes on a nearby rock platform; he planted the Azure Sky into the cliff, then landed steadily on the platform. Though there was wind in the valley, it was nothing significant enough to affect him at his level.
After several attempts like this, he had already reached an area close to the bottom of the abyss.
When they finally stopped, Faina clung to him, looking up at the sky, panting heavily, her small chest rising and falling as if she had lost her breath for quite some time.
“Am I dead?”
The noble girl asked blankly.
Brendel thought for a moment, then suddenly let go, causing Faina to plop down onto the ground with a cry.
“What are you doing!!”
“So, if I let go, you’d know.”
“Wuwu, you bad person…”
This young lady began to cry again, and now she seemed nothing like the fierce persona she had before.
Brendel felt the numbness in his right arm, looking up to see what lay above, thinking that if possible, he wouldn’t want to go through this again; the sensation was almost overwhelming for his physique and strength.
He looked down again.
Below, there was an indistinct layer of murky black, and he and Andisha were quickly approaching the valley floor. However, it was still uncertain where the Multi-headed Saint was; the pursuit had to continue.
He crouched down and nudged Faina’s shoulder, “I’m telling you, stay hidden here; I’ll lure her away.”
Faina froze, forgetting to cry.
Brendel saw the alertness suddenly appear in the blue-eyed girl, and unsure of her thoughts, she suddenly opened her mouth.
“I’ll go with you!”
Oh? Brendel had thought she despised being with him even more than she did Andisha. But he quickly shook his head.
“That won’t do. Taking you with me will slow me down.”
After saying that, Brendel turned to leave, but unexpectedly, the noble girl hurriedly stood up and followed him closely. He sighed immediately.
“It’s dangerous to follow me; you don’t know what I’m going to do?”
“Staying here is even more dangerous. How can you leave a noble lady… behind in such a perilous place?” Her voice grew quieter as she spoke.
“Oh—”
Brendel paused, but Faina wasn’t wrong; who knew what existed beneath this abyss? Although it was safe for now, if they encountered any monsters, it could certainly be bad.
He didn’t mind, but Xi was still with Veronika.
After thinking for a moment, he turned around and extended his hand, “Well… come on.”
“What for?”
Faina immediately asked suspiciously.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to come with me?”
“Who wants to hold your hand!”
“Well then, forget it.”
Brendel pretended to walk away.
“Wait! Hey!”
The noble girl gritted her teeth and shook her twin ponytails, rushing over. However, after looking at Brendel’s back, she hesitated a moment before reaching out to grab his hand.
She felt some fear about the surroundings but still forced herself to say, “Y-you remember, I’m not afraid… and… I won’t thank you.”
“Oh—”
Brendel prolonged his tone in response.
Andisha hadn’t caught up yet as the two slowly walked toward the valley bottom, where the fog enveloped in a layer of gray shadow, and there seemed to be some scent in the air.
They walked along the valley floor for a while, amid the barren rocky outcrops. Brendel sniffed the air but hadn’t had a chance to speak when he heard Faina behind him say, “Strange, the elemental aura here is so strong; it’s the dull elemental energy.”
“Huh?”
Brendel turned around, “You recognize it too?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” Faina rolled her eyes at him.
“I’m an Elementalist; what about you?”
“Is there an Elementalist like you? I’m a magic swordsman, hmph, country bumpkin!”
Brendel had once been furious over being called a country bumpkin, but now it had a different flavor, especially with the way her eyes looked like a rabbit’s—red and slightly puffy, making him unable to help but laugh.
Perhaps it was Brendel’s gaze that made her a bit irritated; Faina shot him a glare, “What are you looking at?”
“You said this is dull elemental energy? What do you know about it?”
“Hmph, all elements are activated, and only after being deposited in one area for a long time will they become visibly dull, but it’s truly incredible for one place to have accumulated such dense energy.”
“Do you feel the elements growing stronger?” Brendel asked.
“En.”
“That means we’re in the right place.”
“What?”
Faina noticed Brendel take out a gray gemstone shimmering with faint light from his pocket. She paused and felt that the gem seemed particularly beautiful at this moment.
……(To Be Continued. To find out what happens next, please log in for more chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)
