Chapter 530: Act 278 – Control
Borne had worked at the White Frost Manor for sixteen years. He knew that he was hired as a guard by the owner of the manor, and most of the noble lords who stayed there would find it hard to trust an outsider like him. It was enough for him to honestly and dutifully carry out his job watching over the stables. He had no lofty aspirations, only wanting to make a living, which wasn’t a high demand in the vicinity of Ampere Seale. During his free time, he could indulge in a few drinks of the strong liquor brewed in the plantations tucked beneath the misty Anseli Mountains—after all, the noble lords’ horses had dedicated caretakers, and it wasn’t his place to interfere.
Borne’s job was quite literal—watching the stables, and he was merely guarding the stables, as they belonged to the wealthy merchant who owned the land.
Before long, he saw the noble lord staying here today—the knights of the Earl had returned, their horses clattering through the courtyard in the night. Borne quickly wiped his mouth and tucked away his flask filled with strong liquor. He didn’t dare drink too much for fear of being discovered with a stench of alcohol and losing this job; jobs near Ampere Seale were easy to find, but none so leisurely and well-paid as this. He didn’t dare look up at the lofty knights, hastily lowering his head to portray a respectful demeanor.
As usual, the knights acted as if they couldn’t see him, walking right past him and into the stable. Borne cursed silently in his heart, using profanities like “these bastards” as if he had been doing so since birth. Just then, however, he heard a woman’s cold and dismissive grunt.
He froze for a moment, having been alert from his years of guarding work, and immediately sensed something was off. But before he could react, a cold blade was pressed against his neck. Borne’s heart nearly stopped; he thought it was over. Cold sweat broke out all over him as he turned his head, only to see a stunningly beautiful face—he instinctively thought that if a princess existed, she would look just like the lady before him.
“Who allowed you to look back?” Andrigraphis said with a foul expression, as if everyone owed her millions of tolls.
Borne trembled at the thought; this young lady certainly had a bad temper.
…
But Brendel quickly intervened, stopping the vampire girl from tormenting this poor honest man. He couldn’t help but feel a bit annoyed at how tedious these vampires were, knowing fully that the guards of these manors were untrustworthy, and intimidating them was pointless. Andrigraphis gave him an expressionless glance before beckoning her finger at the human guard in front of her, and immediately his eyes glazed over.
Most spellcasters among vampires were adept at manipulating the hearts of men, and Andrigraphis was no exception. She excelled in the curse category of dark sorcery but had a bit of knowledge in manipulating minds. Controlling a guard who was barely of Iron rank was a piece of cake for her.
However, this action intensified Brendel’s suspicions. Why go through the trouble of toying with prey when a simple spell would suffice? He had initially thought Andrigraphis was a cold-hearted girl; he didn’t expect her to be as tedious and playful as the others. In contrast, Medephis didn’t have these bad habits. Aside from some issues with his sexual orientation, he almost seemed too simple and endearing for a vampire.
Though he was indeed ‘adorable.’
The young lord sighed, “Let him knock on the manor’s door and say, ‘Andrko said that the lord’s… Pinoeder bloodline warhorse seems to have some issues, and they should hurry over to check it out.’” Brendel glanced back at the stable, instantly recognizing the most prized warhorse among them. He cursed the damn rich in his heart while maintaining a calm demeanor as he instructed Andrigraphis.
The Pinoeder horses came from the Sullen Plateau, bordering Cruz to the north and Greyus. The distance to Erluin was miles away, and purebred Pinoeder warhorses were worth a fortune even in the ten city alliance nearest to the Greyus Knights, let alone in Erluin. Nevertheless, the nobles’ love for horses was fashion, and seeing even the most expensive horse in a noble’s stable didn’t overly shock Brendel. Andrko, whom he mentioned, was one of the patrol members and was likely tied up and thrown out in the nearby forest.
Andrigraphis huffed softly and arrogantly lowered her head to ask, “Did you hear that?” Borne, enchanted by her charm, dared not resist and quickly nodded stiffly. Seeing this scene, Brendel couldn’t help but feel curious, “Will he act too dazed and be noticed?” In fact, the mind-manipulating spells in the Amber Sword were considered dark sorcery, and even a young lord as experienced as him was seeing the function of such spells carefully for the first time.
“Hmph, he merely appears dazed due to his awe of the master. In front of others, he will appear normal,” Andrigraphis replied with an expression of ‘you’re just a country bumpkin.’
Brendel was always curious about the unknowns within the Amber Sword, in line with a player’s inherent mindset, so he didn’t mind Andrigraphis’s attitude much. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Isn’t that frightening? How do we distinguish between them?”
“It’s not that simple. This kind of trick doesn’t work in front of a wizard; even a low-tier apprentice can see through it. But an apprentice must cast a spell to discern the truth, and slightly higher-ranked wizards can see through it at a glance. Familiar people next to him can also detect some anomalies since actions manipulated by spells will always seem somewhat unnatural,” the vampire girl answered diligently. “Moreover, it’s merely a small trick within dark sorcery, just a side note that I found interesting to delve into—”
“Small trick?”
“Because it’s too weak. Those with strength above silver can resist the effects of spells with their will, and mind manipulation has minimal effect on them.”
It was at that moment that Brendel awakened to the truth. By now, the guard had turned around and was making his way toward the manor. In fact, the manor wasn’t far from the stables, just about a hundred steps away. Within that distance, beings of gold rank and above could easily sense any movements in their surroundings; Brendel could even hear the guard knocking on the door. It was likely the back door of the manor’s kitchen, and after a few knocks, it finally creaked open.
In fact, it took Borne three knocks before the door opened a crack, revealing a pair of impatient eyes looking at him. “What is it?”
Borne recognized this knight, one of the many attendants of the noble. However, his understanding was limited; he had only watched the noble from a distance during the day. Upon recognizing him, he instinctively lowered his head and replied, “Andrko said that the lord’s… Pinoeder bloodline warhorse seems to have some issues and needs them to come quickly.”
It must be said, Borne did imitate Brendel’s tone quite well, managing to mimic nearly eighty or ninety percent of Brendel’s demeanor and tone accurately. However, upon hearing such a line, Brendel nearly spat out his drink. He turned to look at Andrigraphis, who couldn’t help but cover her face in amusement.
“This idiot!” Andrigraphis almost squeezed the words out through clenched teeth, her snow-like skin revealing a faint blush. In fact, the vampire girl felt as if her face had been entirely marred by this foolish servant. She quickly motioned toward that side and uttered a strange word: “Tuioz!”
“What does that mean?”
“Nothing much, it just makes people more willing to believe that the lies they hear sound reasonable,” Andrigraphis replied, letting out a light grunt. “This is what you call dark sorcery, but its effect is minimal; I can only do my best.”
Brendel turned back. Beside him, Medephis, Husher, and Flour instinctively rested their hands on their weapons, while Charles silently gripped his spellbook. Everyone was tense, watching intently, but the knight behind the door seemed momentarily stunned, completely unaware that anything was amiss. Instead, he cursed, “What? What kind of nonsense is that Andrko guy up to? Did that guy kill the Earl’s horse and is now panicking?”
Though he said that, everyone in the manor knew that the Pinoeder horse was the Earl’s prized possession. The knight had no choice but to display a cautious demeanor, opening the door and glancing around before angrily addressing Borne, “You must not tell anyone else, wait for me to return.”
Borne quickly nodded obediently.
The knight seemed completely oblivious to anything wrong, hurried over without even taking a weapon, but as soon as he stepped inside the stable, he found a cold sword pointing at his throat. “What… what is this?” The knight froze, then immediately noticed the astonished expressions on Brendel and his party, and he instinctively opened his mouth. But as Brendel pushed the sword forward, the sting made him shut his mouth tight.
“Who are you?” The knight seemed to finally grasp his position and couldn’t help but question, “Where is Andrko? Do you know who you are offending?”
“Don’t waste time asking,” Brendel didn’t have the time to bargain with this guy. He turned back, signaling Medephis to subdue this fellow, then said, “You have two choices: bring us into the manor, and the second one—need I say it?”
The knight naturally understood Brendel’s implication, his face shifting from pale to red and then back to white, as if he were switching colors. After a moment’s hesitation, he still seemed resolute, asking directly, “I can’t just bring you in like this; I need an excuse. I don’t want to die alongside you. If I’m going to die, I’d rather you kill me now.”
“Your mind is still clear,” Brendel couldn’t help but compliment. “The excuse is simple; didn’t I already tell you earlier?”
“Earlier?” The knight blinked, suddenly recalling what Borne had told him before. His expression changed again, and he nodded, “Alright, you must promise not to kill me.”
Brendel immediately sworn an oath to Martha. He never intended to kill anyone; the best outcome was to directly subdue the Earl. If blood were shed, handling the aftermath would be more complicated. After all, openly attacking a noble was strictly prohibited by the laws of the Temple of Fire, and Brendel knew he was merely skirting the edge.
For this reason, in fact, he only revealed the true purpose of tonight’s operation to a few core subordinates like his summoned creatures and Antinna, without informing even the young officers of the White Lion army. Brendel couldn’t guarantee that everyone was willing to join him in this risky endeavor that could cost them their lives. Antinna and Xi had already undergone genuine life-and-death trials with him, naturally making them different.
Seeing Brendel take the oath, the knight felt convinced. In the civilized world of the Amber Sword, swearing an oath to Martha was a grave matter; no one dared to easily break their vows. After all, the consequences of breaking an oath were well known in a world with true deities, and the celestial Martha did not permit her name to be used for deceit.
Recognizing this, he reluctantly led the way. Brendel didn’t fear him attempting any tricks; first, Andrigraphis could easily see through his lies with dark sorcery, and second, Medephis was right beside him. Though on the surface, nothing seemed amiss, who knew that this vampire’s dagger was pressed against the knight’s back.
Monitoring someone of silver strength with a being of gold rank was exceedingly easy.
The knight led them through the back door, which was usually used by the manor kitchen to deliver vegetables and meats. In fact, the group Brendel had disguised as knights of the Earl were merely on separate patrol tasks. Without someone leading the way, they couldn’t simply barge in. The knight led them through a long corridor and stopped in front of a room, knocking and saying, “Lord Rong Ning.”
All along the way, Brendel had inquired about several internal affairs regarding the manor and learned that the person resting in this room was one of the golden rank guard knight captains.
“What’s the matter?” came a voice from inside, sounding like a middle-aged man.
Brendel held his breath, signaling for the knight to respond. The knight hesitated for a moment before nervously answering, “It’s like this, Lord Rong Ning, Andrko and his men discovered that the Earl’s horse seems to have some problems…”
“Horse? Which one?”
“It’s Guohuo.”
Guohuo was indeed the name of that Pinoeder horse, and the voice inside the room instantly became serious. “Guohuo?” The person in the room evidently understood the value of that Pinoeder warhorse and couldn’t help but ask with displeasure, “What have you all done? Don’t you know that horse is the Earl’s favorite steed?”
…(To be continued. If you like this work, please support it by voting with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com); your support is my greatest motivation.)
