Chapter 453: Act 203 – The Mist Beneath
In the dimensional cave, there were a total of five hundred seventy-three sets of temple-standard armor, all of which were bronze-grade gear used by monks. There were also a few sets of silver-grade armor standard for knights, featuring protective crystals and anti-magic arrays that could guard against vital attacks and increase magical resistance. Among the standard equipment, these were considered high-quality items.
In addition, there were weapons, mainly two-handed swords and longswords, with gleaming blades stamped with the mark of flames, also products of the Temple of Fire. Brendel could tell these items were prepared by Amann for the rebel Tree-Shepherds, yet they had become his spoils of war, perfect for equipping the forming White Lion army, though he would need to alter their appearance.
These standard pieces of equipment were neatly stacked, while not far from them floated a disheveled pile of gear in the dimensional cave, likely looted by Amann from enemies. However, there seemed to be nothing of high value among them, and it appeared that Amann did not place much importance on this gear, carelessly piling it together.
However, Brendel was intrigued, for he discovered that floating beyond this pile was a silver ornament set with a dim black gemstone, seemingly the last item placed within the pile. Being extremely familiar with various equipment, the moment he laid eyes on it, he felt a pang of recognition and reached out to grab it.
At that moment, he noticed a shiny silver rune within the center of the black gemstone, as if it had formed naturally. “This is…” Brendel recognized it as a high-level talisman named ‘Lich’s Tear’, whose equipment level exceeded that of the fantasy grade. As he scanned its effects, his eyes involuntarily twitched.
Lich’s Tear (Item Level 300Oz): Hardens skin, +300 Health, +1 Protection, +1 to Undead Spells, activates rune: instant cast a spell below the eighth tier. (0/30)
“I see, it’s this thing,” he realized. There was no doubt this was Amann’s reliance, allowing him to instant-cast several protective spells earlier. Seeing the (0/30) energy pool at the back, Brendel understood it to be similar to the Ring of Wind Queen; every instant-cast spell would consume a bit of energy, with a total energy cap of 30 points, and once depleted, a certain time would be required to recharge. However, while the Ring of Wind Queen needed several hours to recharge, he wondered how long this talisman would take.
Despite that, it was still quite overpowered. Not only could it instant-cast a total of 30 tiers of spells, the added attributes were impressive: 300 Health, +1 Protection, and +1 to Undead Spells. Before achieving a perfect body, a character’s health equals base health plus level adjustment plus constitution times two. As a warrior—the thick-skinned class—Brendel’s health right now hovered around 411 points; equipping this would effectively double his health.
He couldn’t help but inwardly exclaim “no wonder”, as he recalled how resilient Amann seemed, shaking off several heavy hits as if unaffected. With this gear, he would at least be on par with a ranger, if not a warrior of equal level. Brendel had to wipe the sweat off his brow; the Amber Sword contained too many bizarre items, and it was wise not to judge purely by common sense, lest one fall into a trap.
However, Brendel also knew this talisman looked a bit over the top, but it was indeed high-level equipment. A level 300 item typically should be gear for classes at level 50 or 60, while his current highest-level gear, the Earth Sword, barely exceeded 100 level. Normally, a person at his level could only equip items totaling around 300 level, and wearing this talisman would likely mean going completely nude.
But this posed no problem for him; due to the chaotic influence of Andisha’s divine blood experiments, his body was akin to that of a monster. Even without relying on any level adjustments, his exceptionally high will attribute of 124 directly expanded his equipable range by 1240 levels, basically on par with a single-class level 100 character, making it easy to equip items 20 or 30 levels higher.
Given this, Brendel wouldn’t hesitate; he directly stored the talisman away, feeling no shame. After counting the gear in the dimensional cave, only a minute or two had passed since he descended, but at that moment, footsteps began to approach through the fog outside.
“Xi?” Brendel pondered, finding it unlikely, as Xi didn’t walk this heavily; it was a man approaching. He thought for a moment and casually stored the fragment of the Book of Malvicarte back into the dimensional cave, then bound the silver thread to his mental power—this ensured that as long as he was alive, no one could breach the dimensional cave.
After all, the dimensional cave wasn’t the same as a dimensional bag; the cave’s value within the Amber Sword was at least hundreds of times more than a dimensional bag, yet both had similar capacities. This was because dimensional bags were too easy to destroy; although they possessed dimensional properties, the bag’s exterior strength was similar to that of a normal pocket, easily damaged, often resulting in severe losses for players once breached.
Brendel had seen some excessively sly players who would simply stash their dimensional bags in their underwear to ensure their belongings stayed safe. Of course, this was just the wisdom of the masses; one shouldn’t underestimate it, after all, there aren’t the most cunning players, only those who are more cunning.
As he was lost in these thoughts, the footsteps above got closer. Brendel looked up and squinted, seeing a tall figure emerge from the fog; as he expected, it was Gray Saint Mephistopheles.
“You’d best come take a look at this,” Mephistopheles said, standing above the pit and looking down at him. This middle-aged man’s gray-brown eyes remained eerily calm, so calm that it seemed as though he hadn’t been chasing Brendel and Xi through the mountains earlier, presenting an air of indifference.
Brendel didn’t quite understand how this guy’s personality had developed, but he seemed overly proud, overly self-important. Nevertheless, one couldn’t deny that without such inherent pride, who would dare challenge an entire empire?
“What’s going on?”
“There are some things beneath the ruins.”
Things? If he wasn’t mistaken, this square should have been a gathering place or market for the ancient People of Silver; what could possibly be beneath a market? However, Brendel wouldn’t jump to conclusions, and he nodded to Mephistopheles, climbing up from the pit.
“Are you not wary of that man?” Otales asked in his mind.
“Rest assured, I know him better than I know Veronika,” Brendel replied. Given Gray Saint’s nature, he would never stoop to ambush; if not for revenge against the empire, he likely wouldn’t care to even glance at Brendel again. Moreover, they were currently in the same boat; Mephistopheles valued his word, and self-sabotage was not something he would stoop to.
Climbing up, Brendel found Mephistopheles unchanged, observing him intently. However, Brendel’s lack of caution sparked a flicker of surprise in the knight’s eyes—not a feigned reaction; such composure could either indicate a fool or a genius, and Brendel certainly appeared to be no fool. If he were, it was likely that Amann, who had just died, would revive in anger.
The Sword Saint’s calm demeanor belied a mind racing with calculation. He had certainly considered the outcome of his deal with Veronika, but he never contemplated relying on others; he felt that if Brendel agreed to share one-third of the territory, he could singularly establish this nation. Yet now, witnessing Brendel’s performance, a hint of persuasion began to form in Mephistopheles’ heart; perhaps collaborating with this young man was not a bad idea. Working with someone intelligent was always enjoyable. Besides, with Brendel only in his early twenties and having achieved so much, perhaps the rebuilt duchy would depend on his protection in the future.
Mephistopheles was certainly not foolish enough to believe he could live forever; such thoughts belonged to those whose brains were muddled, self-centered individuals. Whether the duchy would thrive after his death, and whether he would find a competent successor, remained an enigma.
At this time, Brendel reached his side, asking, “Where is it?” Unaware of the profound turmoil in Mephistopheles’ mind, which had seen a shift in perspective reflected in his tone: “This way, I’ll take you to see.”
Brendel hesitated, surprised by his response.
The spot Mephistopheles found was in a corner of the entire square, where a section had collapsed during the previous battle, exposing a dark void below. The swiftly spreading golden thornbush had grown in this direction, dense and thorny branches reaching into the pit below, as if having grown there for centuries. If one didn’t observe closely, they could easily overlook the fact that there was an artificially dug pathway below.
This place had been discovered by Xi, Funiya, and Mephistopheles, who stood at the entrance. As soon as Brendel approached and peered down, he let out a sharp intake of breath: “It’s an underground city!”
What he first noticed was a layer about two fingers thick and several meters wide in the middle of a rock formation. It resembled crystal sheets, and the patterns displayed on the surface of the tunnel resembled crystalline lattices. Brendel, well-versed in such matters, instantly recognized it as a channel for transmitting magical energy, indicating that beneath the square lay a center supplying magical energy.
After a brief assessment, Brendel concluded that the entire control center of Valhalla was beneath this underground city. The buildings atop the World Tree now appeared merely to be a façade.
As for the so-called underground control center and magical energy hub, Brendel could only think of one possibility.
The Seed.
“Mr. Sword Saint, I believe you’ve found the big guy,” he muttered, gazing down the dark tunnel. The lattice patterns extended in one direction, and undoubtedly, following these lines would lead them easily to their ultimate target.
……
Note: The talisman’s increase in Undead Spell Level +1 is akin to the D2 setting, which requires the character to have already mastered the corresponding skill for it to take effect. This differs slightly from the previous Lion’s Medal’s conflict aura +1.
The chapters in Valhalla may conclude in three to four chapters; battles and adventures are fundamentally coming to an end. This is largely due to previous lengthiness and a prolonged period spent reorganizing writing thoughts, thus a prior notice. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation or monthly vote; your support is my greatest motivation.)
