Chapter 526: Act 274 – Introduction of the Princess
The Temple lay in ruins; one of the culprits behind it, Marquis Julian, had already taken his leave. Brendel cast a glance at High Priest Wood. “High Priest, you shouldn’t have come out,” he said seriously, having changed his previously joking demeanor.
“If I don’t come out, you all would have torn this temple apart. Do you know how long this temple has stood?” High Priest Wood replied, raising his eyelids slightly with irritation.
Brendel forced an awkward smile and turned to Princess Margadale, “I haven’t thanked you yet, Your Highness. May I ask your name?”
“Just call me Margadale. Here, I am but a nun, sir,” Margadale sighed. “I’m sorry… I really should have stopped your duel. Now it’s caused such a mess. This temple is Master Rogning’s lifework; we have desecrated this masterpiece too much. It’s all my fault.”
“No,” Brendel shook his head. “Your Highness, you needn’t take all the responsibility. Even if you had tried to stop me, I would have insisted on dueling him.”
The nun princess widened her brown eyes slightly in surprise and said, “Why? Don’t you regret it, sir?”
“If I cannot protect my subordinates, then I will regret it,” Brendel replied earnestly. “That is why I am thankful for you, Princess Margadale.”
“I’ve never heard such a perspective before. Generally, subjects owe their loyalty to their superiors, and protecting their followers—even at the cost of their lives—is that not their duty and obligation?” Margadale blinked.
“Loyal subjects swear allegiance to their lords, promising honor and protection to their followers; this is an upright contract. In ancient times, the pioneers who fought in the wilderness swore such oaths,” High Priest Wood interjected as he watched the monks clean up the devastated courtyard. “However, for that, you must pay a hundred thousand Tor, which is rather expensive.”
Brendel twisted the new ring on his hand and shrugged, “That’s not my money anyway. Besides, that Marquis must pay more than I do. He is spending so much just to confirm whether the High Priest is officiating the ceremony for the Knight of the Temple; that’s quite a hefty sum.” If Marquis Julian were to hear him say this now, he would probably be furious.
Wood did not respond.
“I see,” Margadale looked closely at Brendel and asked, “Sir, may I know your name?”
“Of course, I’m Sue,” Brendel replied, unable to resist glancing at High Priest Wood. He felt a bit embarrassed telling a lie in front of someone who knew the truth, but Master Wood’s expression remained unchanged, as if he hadn’t heard anything.
“Sue?” The nun princess frowned and mumbled, “Why does that sound like a girl’s name?”
Her voice was very soft, almost a whisper, but unfortunately, Brendel, having entered the realm of gold, had senses that were much sharper than average and could not help but cough lightly. Fortunately, Margadale did not linger on this issue and instead lifted her head to ask, “Did Mr. Sue come to Ampere Seale to take up the position of Knight of the Temple at this time?”
“Pretty much,” Brendel suddenly remembered something and added, “I also want to take a look around Ampere Seale, broaden my horizons. I’ve heard for a long time that this is the most prosperous port in the southern part of Vaunte; I just never had the chance to see it. Since I am here now, I should definitely explore more.”
“I see. Indeed, the prosperity of Ampere Seale surpasses that of many places in Erluin. However, the most worthwhile place in this city is probably the Andefluor Sanctuary. Besides that, you can also visit the White Stone Lighthouse and the rare goods market. The city’s charm is indeed different from many other places,” the princess replied, nodding her head.
“I’ve heard that Ampere Seale hosts the largest auction in the Southlands. There have been items auctioned there that only exist in fantasy, is that true?” Brendel feigned a questioning tone, although no one here knew more about the Ampere Seale auction than him. It was the auction with the most participating players in all of Erluin, held once per season, with many players returning from all over to attend this grand event.
“The auction in Ampere Seale is indeed the most authoritative in all of Erluin… Are you interested in auctions, Mr. Sue?”
“I am, but unfortunately, I do not have the qualifications to participate in the auction.”
“Are you troubled by that, Mr. Sue?” Margadale asked with some surprise. “Then there’s no need to worry. I happen to know Baron Donal, who runs the auction. If you don’t mind, I can introduce you to him. The baron is a serious businessman; I think he wouldn’t mind having another guest.”
“Perfect!” Brendel knew that this highly sociable and popular princess must have her channels. However, he felt a bit guilty about exploiting her kindness, so he sincerely expressed his gratitude, “If that’s the case, then I won’t refuse. I am very eager to witness this auction. Thank you very much, Your Highness.”
“It’s just a small favor,” Princess Margadale smiled lightly at him, seeming very satisfied to have been able to help someone. “But Mr. Sue, be careful; Marquis Julian is a petty man. Watch out for his retaliation against you in Ampere Seale.”
“I am aware,” Brendel nodded. He certainly knew this; he had come to Ampere Seale under an alias. There were over three hundred thousand people in Ampere Seale and its surrounding areas, with dozens of nobles—he would be surprised if Marquis Julian could find him after he left the temple, especially if High Priest Wood chose not to speak.
…
After exiting the Andefluor Sanctuary, Marquis Julian immediately boarded a carriage. Injured and pale, Dejyar was also helped into the same carriage by his servant. The smell of blood filled the compartment, and those familiar with Marquis Julian knew he had a severe case of germophobia, but at this moment, he didn’t even frown and simply asked, “How is your injury?”
“Not so good; I might need to rest for half a year,” Dejyar replied weakly. His wound had bled enough, having been staunched by divine magic, yet he was still weak and could barely sit upright.
“I didn’t expect that young man to be so formidable.” Marquis Julian couldn’t help but touch his own cheek, where a cold pain made him grimace; he inhaled sharply, having never been hurt so badly before. The marquis fell silent, not knowing what to think.
“This time it was your impulsiveness, my lord,” Dejyar answered weakly.
“Wood has only officiated for these two people for over a decade; of course, I wanted to find out what he was doing.” He sniffed the blood on his fingers, frowned, and muttered, “Impulsiveness is hard to say. But that brat was too infuriating; it was just two women, yet he struck with such viciousness—who does he think he is?”
“What does my lord think?”
“Margadale seems to really not know him, so he shouldn’t be from my lovely niece’s side.” Marquis Julian considered with a grim expression, “He’s likely a descendant of ancient nobility. It is said that my ancestor Eke received support from several hidden noble families, whose ties to Cruz can’t be denied… but I wonder what old Wood is trying to do by calling them out at this time.”
“Does he want to extend his term? My lord, this pertains to our plans…” Dejyar suddenly struggled to sit up.
“Stay still; what’s there to be nervous about,” Marquis Julian coldly glared at Dejyar, who froze under his stare, despite being a renowned swordsman. “Is it so easy for a mere regional priest to extend his term? Even Cruz’s greatest power cannot influence the Temple’s decisions; this is completely naive of you. I suspect that old man is merely trying to resist. Let him be; it has nothing to do with us.”
As he spoke, Marquis Julian lifted the carriage curtain to cast a cold glance outside, secretly grinding his teeth.
…
Upon leaving the temple, Antinna had heard that Brendel had had a conflict with another marquis, and she couldn’t help but shoot him a fierce glare. However, it was already a significant improvement. Because Brendel was stepping up for them, she had not gone so far as to chastise this unreliable noble lord severely, and Brendel was almost used to it; he felt like a noble, but indeed was not one.
It truly was a case of good intentions not yielding good results—
Fortunately, there was Xi, the red-haired girl of mountain origin, who brought some solace to Brendel. However, it was unclear what this soft girl was thinking; she had been absent-minded all the way, occasionally lifting her head to look at him with a strange expression, which made the young noble lady next to her feel quite exasperated in her efforts to form an alliance.
The marketplace in Ampere Seale was extremely bustling. This gray-white port was known for its commerce, with tales suggesting its streets were paved with jade and gold. Of course, that was an exaggeration, yet the city was indeed captivating for anyone seeing it for the first time, and Brendel momentarily forgot to head back, strolling through the streets with the two beautiful girls.
As a gentleman possessing the company of two soft girls to shop with felt rather pleasant, especially since he didn’t have to carry anything or stand outside the stores waiting forever; Brendel was chuckling to himself as he opened his profession panel. The new profession, Knight of the Temple, was there, now at level fifteen, with skills: Solar Blood, Conflict Aura, and Thorned Crown. There wasn’t much to study since he had already compiled the details about this profession in the game. Moreover, he primarily took this job to acquire skills; the other useful skills of the Knight of the Temple could only be learned after reaching level thirty, and Brendel had no intention of leveling up to that threshold for now.
He opened the panel, glanced at it, and began to allocate skills. First, he upgraded Conflict Aura to level ten, then both Solar Blood and Thorned Crown to level five each. Since the Knight of the Temple was an advanced profession, its skills’ base experience followed the mid-tier skill calculations; thus, this conversion took nearly seven hundred thousand experience points in total.
Fortunately, Brendel had been continuously absorbing experience fragments from the Book of Mavikart over this time. He now had over four million spare experience points, half of which he converted into skill experience. The light orb from the Book of Mavikart had shrunk by about a quarter compared to before. According to Brendel’s estimates, if he only aimed to increase his profession level with the book’s total experience, it could directly elevate his mercenary level to fifty. However, having just a profession level didn’t hold much significance—it merely strengthened absolute power.
Eagle Dejyar was a typical example; his golden tier strength could also suppress opponents, but in reality, the root of the Amber Sword was still skills. Speaking of skills, Brendel felt a slight bitterness when he thought of the Queen Wind Nine Moons; leveling from seven to eight required two hundred fifty thousand experience, and converting that into skill experience would take two and a half million. Even if he dismantled all the fragments of the Book of Mavikart, he would probably only be able to get that skill to around level ten, an endless pit.
Brendel sighed and finally came to his senses when he caught sight of Antinna beside him, her face looking rather gloomy. For some reason, at that moment, he suddenly thought that she would look perfect wearing glasses. As a man of action, he immediately acted upon the thought. Ampere Seale had many shops selling various rare goods, and Brendel easily bought her a pair of magical glasses from the Hazell people.
This wasn’t just a whim. Antinna often needed to work at her desk in the territory, and these magical glasses were said to have the power to protect one’s vision, making them very suitable for the noble lady. Of course, whether it was caring for a subordinate or indulging in a wicked pastime, only Brendel knew in his heart. Although Antinna was reluctant to wear them, it must be said that when she put them on, her gritted teeth bore a certain charm—she was completely the essence of a serious glasses-wearing girl.
The three of them wandered until sunset, and as the main commercial streets of Ampere Seale were bathed in a bronze-red hue, they returned to the inn laden with gifts. By the time they returned to the inn, it was almost dinner time; however, Brendel discovered that several of his main subordinates had already been waiting for him there for quite some time. After asking, he learned that Sue had brought back new information from outside.
…
(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please support it by voting on qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
