Chapter 488: Act 236 – Final Preparations, Tomb and Female Commander
The exquisite card was gray, adorned with cloud patterns, golden borders, and thin as a wing, depicting the towering walls of Black City in Ludese with a volcano in the background. Brendel set it down, allowing the sunlight that had been blocked to stream through the skylight, scattering like pools of fragmented gold onto the wizard’s crimson robe across the way.
The Adverse Furnace of Acrolania
(Adverse Paradise III)
Any 30
【Barrier – Nest】
When ‘Furnace’ enters play, attach it to the land card.
Horizontal, any 2, sacrifice an Acrolanian soldier to give ‘Furnace’ two points of energy.
‘As the traveler crossed the great plains, dark clouds overshadowed the northern Ludese volcano, flames shooting into the sky.’
“What is this…?”
“A group of mercenaries found it at the entrance of the dungeon. They knew my men were searching for something similar, so they brought it to me. The dungeon is near a silver mine in the mountains; I suspect there are more fate cards inside.” Charles communicated telepathically, “This card should have been created by a traveling mage named Chunximan, who was one of the outstanding travelers among many over three thousand years. He created a dark world called the Acrolanian Plains, the Adverse of Acrolania, which is a very famous black-and-white card set. This card is part of that set and is used in conjunction with other cards.”
Brendel looked at his mage servant, “Why have I never heard you mention this before?”
“I just found out recently, ever since I leveled up,” Charles shrugged.
“Is this card powerful?”
“Of course, Acrolania is one of the top traveling mages throughout history. If we can discover his legacy, we’ll be rich.” Charles answered.
Brendel wasn’t so optimistic. In past games, the dungeons around Schafflund were numerous, but that didn’t change the fact that it was a beginner’s area. The underground ruins of the rune dwarves near the Schafflund silver mine were an exception; the treasure value elsewhere was still uncertain.
“You didn’t explore deeper?”
“The mercenaries only delved near the entrance. The rooms behind were filled with silt, impassable. It seems like it should be a burial site, not belonging to our era.”
A sealed area?
Brendel became interested; sealed areas often indicated unexplored dungeons, which could yield good rewards on the first exploration. However, it seemed his card was inexplicably linked to tombs; wouldn’t he eventually turn into a lucrative tomb raider?
“Then let’s go take a look. How did you get here?” The exchange in their minds took only a moment, with only Flour aware. The others only felt the hall quiet down, then saw Brendel lift his head, his gaze sweeping across the hall.
“Naturally, by coach, my lord,” Charles replied with a slight smile.
Brendel nodded and looked at Carglis, “Carglis.”
“Yes, what’s up?” Carglis, ever distracted, snapped back to attention. Brendel felt a twinge of pain at the corner of his eye, “It’s a stroke of luck that your father didn’t kick you out of the house, given you’re one of Erluin’s most serious nobles.”
The young man laughed and scratched his head.
“You go prepare a ship to Ampere Seale.”
“A ship to Ampere Seale?” Carglis reacted quickly, “I’m going to Ampere Seale? My lord, what is your command?” he asked excitedly.
“Not you, me.”
“What? My lord, you’re leaving Cold Fir Territory for Ampere Seale, why?”
“Stop asking so many questions. Are you going or not?” Brendel retorted, feeling exasperated; Carglis could easily be called one of Duke Toniger’s elite young men, yet he was annoyingly lazy. He felt a bit sorry for Sir Minate, who must have been furious often.
Carglis shrugged, “I’ll go, of course, why not? It’s the lord’s command. A merchant ship to Ampere Seale, I understand. I’ll tell them it’s just a batch of ordinary passengers.”
That was more like it. Brendel turned and looked at Phineas, “Do you all like it here?” He had overheard the conversation between the tree spirit girl and Medisa. Phineas nodded. The tree spirit archers were left behind by the druids to stay in Cold Fir Territory; they too wanted to find a suitable residence.
“But Valhalla isn’t large enough.”
“That’s alright; nearby is fine, my lord.” The female elf archer captain said generously.
Her words reminded Brendel. The idea of relocating the residents of Viridien Village began to form in his mind; the Erluins in the territory were still unable to accept the Sainya people. It wasn’t feasible for them to remain in the logging area any longer. He would delegate this task to the Silver Elf princess, as Medisa was currently the commander of the tree spirits and certainly had the capability.
After arranging everything, Brendel followed Charles onto the coach, accompanied by Xi and Romaine. Xi stayed close to him, as if she found security beside him. Young Romaine was just the same, like a little tail.
The dungeon lay in a valley, three hours away from Schafflund, with no roads nearby. Thus, the group had to traverse through the dense forest for half a day before the emerald valley appeared before them. The valley faced south to north, connected to undulating hills below, with a stream running beneath it. Scattered tents were seen in the adjacent forest, where several apprentice wizards under Charles and a team of mercenaries camped to prevent local free adventurers from getting there first.
The leader of this team was a young wizard known by Brendel, someone associated with the companion who was killed by Grudin. Hailing from a noble family, he had stayed on under Charles’s tutelage to learn magic after Grudin’s death. He had reinvented himself with a new name—Leren—having become one of Charles’s most outstanding apprentices.
The young man bowed respectfully to Brendel. Brendel had seen him before and remembered the burning rage in his silent eyes, but now only humility remained.
“My lord, the tomb is at the bottom of the valley, shallowly buried in the mountain, with only a few stone columns sticking out. The mercenaries dug a passage that leads underground, connecting to the tomb path. The tomb path extends inward for about fifty meters, leading to three burial chambers arranged along the axial line, filled with silt, and hard to proceed further. I instructed my men to use detection magic and metal outside, but we didn’t gain any results.” Leren articulated clearly.
What a talent; Brendel couldn’t help feeling surprised. It was easy to find a bunch of seasoned mercenaries in Duke Toniger’s ranks, but those with insight and intelligence were rare. These were either temple practitioners or nobles; it was fortunate they didn’t cause him trouble.
Listening, he raised his head to take in his surroundings—the stream in the valley must swell during the rainy season to flood their location, thus he speculated that the tomb’s silt likely originated from the riverbed. However, he didn’t care much for Leren’s accounts; fate cards couldn’t be detected by magic, only sensed by traveling mages.
“You didn’t dig through the silt?”
“No, my lord, there is a magical barrier behind the silt; we tried various methods but couldn’t dismantle it,” Leren replied, looking somewhat troubled.
“A magical barrier?” Brendel perked up, “Show me.”
“As you wish, my lord.” The young man bowed in response.
The entrance to the tomb was at the other end of the camp. The group passed through the camp, where the mercenaries all looked at Brendel with admiration. They knew that this young lord was a man unafraid of power, bold enough to confront the Lord Earl, all for the promise made to a little girl.
As for Count Rendener’s response—those awaiting redemption in the dungeons of Firburh were still packed, and Brendel’s feat of slaying Count Rendener’s two golden-tier swordsmen on the battlefield had long spread throughout the kingdom.
This was the true meaning of a man; seeing Brendel at this moment, no one could disagree.
However, Brendel was surprised to see the female mercenary commander in the camp. With red hair and blue eyes, Juliette was dressed in a white shirt, tight pants that accentuated her curves, a wide belt, and knee-high boots, resembling a female pirate.
She tied her warhorse to a tree, flipping her waterfall-like hair back, and was slightly taken aback when she saw Brendel.
“Ah, the mines were so boring, I heard a tomb was discovered over here and thought I’d take a look. Didn’t expect to be found on my first time taking a break; I really am unlucky.” Juliette glanced around, recognizing some mercenaries who used to be under her command, “However, your reputation seems to be rising, my lord.”
Brendel coughed lightly; the female mercenary commander’s figure was almost too explosive. Wearing a shirt, her snowy and ample half-spheres were nearly spilling out, nearly tearing her clothing. Not to mention him, even Charles had a hard time pulling his gaze from that ‘cleavage.’
“Quite thrilling,” Charles couldn’t help but exhale in their telepathic communication.
Brendel found it amusing, but most of his men wore mismatched attire. The mercenaries and adventurers still followed past habits, and now that his status had risen, it was time to standardize the uniforms. The military uniform of the Erluin Kingdom was dark blue, and the lord’s private soldiers had their own customs, usually deriving colors from their family crests—but Brendel had other ideas.
He nodded at Juliette, “No problem. Since you, the female commander, are interested, how about we go together?”
“In that case, I’ll comply,” Juliette smiled slightly, “But my lord, you’re being too polite; I’d like to be your knight; you can just call me by my name.”
Brendel looked at her, a knight? A vassal? He vaguely sensed a deeper meaning in Juliette’s words.
The female mercenary commander appeared quite carefree; ever since Count Rendener’s defeat, she had completely submitted. To follow a decent lord was the dream of every mercenary. Though she didn’t know what Crenshia and Vurn were thinking, it would likely be no different.
……(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation or monthly votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)
