Chapter 436: Act 188 – The Final Moment (4)
Brendel immediately turned around, placing his index finger to his lips in a gesture for Faina and Funiya to be quiet. Andisha’s voice had scared the noble lady so much that her face turned pale, nearly making her cry out, until she saw Brendel’s action and covered her mouth, calming down.
The forest fell silent—
Except for the monotonous chirping of some kind of winged insect in the nearby bushes, a few small rodents scurried swiftly through the weeds, making rustling sounds.
Faina could almost hear her own pulse thumping intensely in the eerie silence; the tension accelerated the flow of her blood, yet her fingers and face grew increasingly pale.
“What should we do?”
She mouthed the words. The arrogance of the noble lady from earlier seemed to have vanished, leaving only an ordinary girl staring at Brendel with a frightened expression—she realized that he was the only one she could rely on now.
Brendel glanced at her.
At this moment, the noble lady’s face was as dirty as a calico cat, and her beautiful golden ponytail was covered in dust—although anyone would look like this after a battle, he still found her appearance more endearing than before.
At least the overbearing demeanor she had while arguing with him had long since faded.
“Don’t worry.”
He replied in the same manner. Brendel knew that this noble lady’s current state was only temporary; she would always be the duchess’s daughter of the Crusians. Not to mention her superior attitude was deeply ingrained in her bones; just a moment ago, before Andisha appeared, she had been bickering with him.
He calmed down and listened intently; faint footsteps gradually emerged from the other side of the forest. It seemed that Andisha had no intention of hiding her tracks—in fact, with her strength, there was no need to do so—only someone afraid would skulk about; true strength did not require such behavior.
Just like they were now—
In the past games, Brendel, as a level 130 warrior, seldom needed to engage in stealthy actions; the days when he had dual-classed as a rogue were memories from many years ago.
That part of his experience was both exciting and thrilling, but things felt different now; the reality of life and death made every moment feel threatening, and the sensation of being hunted did not seem exhilarating at all.
Instead, it felt incredibly tense and fearful.
The stark contrast made him feel very uncomfortable; only because his past experience lingered could Brendel quickly regain his composure.
He stood still, hearing two pairs of footsteps hesitating not far to the west—this direction was quite close, which meant that there could be more than one exit from below to the surface.
But was this considered a stroke of luck?
Then he heard Andisha’s voice:
“That kid might have already gone far. I didn’t expect that besides Druids, there would be people from the Silver Alliance secretly protecting them. The earlier spell had a familiar aura; I wonder if it’s from those old geezers.”
Hearing this voice, Brendel instinctively held his breath, but soon another man’s voice reached him; this voice sounded somewhat familiar:
“I didn’t expect you, this monster, to regret having made so many enemies. Isn’t this a bit ironic?”
“Regret having made too many enemies? What a ridiculous statement,” Andisha’s voice sounded a bit abrasive, and it was clear she was sneering: “The way you speak shows why you’re so timid. But since that’s the case, why don’t you cowards just go hide back in your filthy lair?”
“Alright, alright,” the man’s voice seemed to weaken: “I’m not here to argue with you, Andisha; what interests me more is that there’s actually another world here. I have no doubt that we’re the first visitors here in hundreds of years.”
“It’s the second group; don’t forget, they might have gone in earlier.”
Brendel knew that the “they” Andisha mentioned referred to him; she probably didn’t dare to confirm how many people were with him. Doubts would lead to hesitation, which was good news for him.
“It doesn’t matter, Andisha, have you realized that the young man knew about this place from the start? I can’t believe he accidentally opened that great door without preparation.”
The man continued: “Although that great door outside is probably a foolish relic of humanity, you can’t deny that in the golden age, these things were at least spectacular and grand compared to the pathetic civilizations we have now.”
“You think, Andisha, that such a presence would open the door without any sign?”
“What do you mean, Mihara? Oh—I forgot you’re supposed to be called…” Andisha replied teasingly, but before she could finish, she was interrupted by the man:
“Andisha, don’t you care that the Druids are secretly preparing something without telling anyone? Not to mention that the old-timers from the Silver Alliance are also involved; there are fragments of the sealing stones here, and who knows what other astonishing things might be.”
“Astonishing things? Is this world tree not enough?”
“This withered world tree is likely just a test object from the ancient wars; however, it’s nothing special. You know that very well, Andisha.”
“Perhaps, I’d like to know. Therefore, you should end this nonsense and follow me—”
“Your personality hasn’t changed a bit,” the man replied.
After that, both of them stopped talking, and Brendel immediately held his breath, realizing that Andisha’s perception was frighteningly sharp. This meant that if they were even slightly careless, they could be discovered by the other side. That woman didn’t even need to deliberately draw attention like him to achieve this.
Faina understood this too. Although this noble lady could be somewhat self-righteous, she was well-informed; coming from the upper echelons of the Crusian Empire, she had seen various strong individuals and understood the extent of the threat Andisha posed.
Lastly was Funiya, the girl from the mountains, who was cautious and perceptive; she only needed to observe what her brother Brendel chose to do to understand her path.
She lifted her head, her bright green eyes twinkling non-stop, but she did not make a sound.
The three of them stood like puppets, hearing the footsteps on the other side of the bushes hesitating for a moment, as if Andisha and the man named Mihara were searching for direction.
Finally, Andisha said, “They may have already entered the central area.” Then the footsteps gradually moved away towards the world tree.
After a long time—
Only then did Brendel dare to exhale.
“Ha—” Faina let out a long breath, her face devoid of color as she patted her chest. She looked like she had just been pulled from the water, sweat soaking her back, her forehead glistening with cold sweat.
“Thank goodness, they went far; let’s take the opportunity to go back.” She said immediately.
“Go back?”
“Of course, that woman thinks we went in. While she hasn’t realized, we should quickly return to meet Lady Veronika and leave here, right?” Faina said, her eyes wide, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
“No, no, you’ve misunderstood,” Brendel said sternly, shaking his head: “You should be the one to go back alone, Miss. Besides, the lead wolf Echis outside is still sleeping; it seems he won’t wake up for a while. The fog nightmare was defeated by Andisha, so there’s no danger on the way. You should still remember the path we came from, right?”
“I—” The noble lady was taken aback, her brows raised sharply: “You want me to go alone?”
“What else do you want?”
“Y-you won’t accompany me?” Faina asked, incredulously.
Brendel was a bit puzzled; how could this noble lady say such a thing as if it were a given? Did he appear that familiar with her?
“Why would I accompany you?” He clearly stated his refusal.
“I… you…” The noble lady’s face changed from green to white as she stared at him. She was about to explode in anger, but for some reason, she soft-hearted halfway: “Well… then why are you staying here?”
“Well, with such a big tree here, any normal person would be curious, wouldn’t they, Miss?” Brendel pointed at the world tree, not intending to tell her the truth.
Of course, anyone could tell from his words that he was being dismissive.
“Hey, isn’t curiosity less important than life…?”
“Huh?” Brendel was taken aback, asking curiously, “Are you concerned about me or worried no one will accompany you back?”
Faina’s face flushed, and she raised her brows, saying loudly: “Neither, you idiot! I just asked casually; I don’t care about your life! So… I’m leaving; if you die, don’t blame me…”
With that, she took a deep breath and turned to leave. Brendel watched the back of the noble lady shrug; compared to her bewilderment, he was serious—though it was somewhat beyond the plan, he had to stay behind to compete with Andisha for dominion over Valhalla.
This sounded a bit incredible, but it was not unrealistic. Andisha did not know the true significance of this place and did not have a clear goal like he did. In that regard, Brendel had already taken the initiative.
Moreover, being with Funiya, who was recognized as the ruler of Valhalla, if he could further control this legendary territory, he could leverage the powers here to defeat Andisha.
It was like a god enjoying a tremendous home-field advantage in their divine domain, although that comparison was somewhat exaggerated. However, as far as Brendel knew, the slumbering guardian forces of Valhalla would be enough to drive Andisha away.
However, it was improbable to “keep” her here.
Yet discussing these possibilities was simple, while executing them was indeed perilous. Especially seizing the initiative right under Andisha’s nose, taking the offensive made even thinking about it seem daunting.
In such a nearly all-or-nothing gamble, Brendel had no interest in dragging an anchor along. Therefore, if he could find an opportunity to send the noble lady away, he would wholeheartedly support it. In fact, if possible, he would rather send Funiya to a safe place first.
Only a lone ranger could walk safely on the edge of danger.
However, what Brendel didn’t expect was that he had just sighed in relief when Faina’s figure had disappeared behind that door. Before he could turn around, the noble lady walked out from inside.
“Hey—”
She looked terrified of the dark, her face pale, but the first thing she said was: “B-by the way, I-I suddenly remembered that the Crusian people ne-never abandon their companions—e-even though we were enemies before, you saved me once… Though you are heartless, I cannot be unjust…”
Brendel’s face immediately darkened.
…(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
