Chapter 531: Act 279 – The Sudden Explosion
The dissatisfied tone of the people in the room made the knight tense up; he turned to look at Brendel.
“Tell him it was because of the stable’s door; they recklessly swapped the black beans for ordinary feed.” Brendel maintained his composure and simply mouthed the words to the other, fully aware of how precious the purebred Pinoeder horses were. Their feed had to be specialized, and the beans in the hay had to be the black beans unique to the Sue Plateau; otherwise, there would be problems.
The knight hurriedly parroted back the explanation. This time, the people in the room believed it about eighty percent. In fact, he had never really doubted anything—after all, this was Ampere Seale, and he couldn’t imagine who would dare to act out under the temple’s watchful eyes. He pondered for a moment and replied, “What a hassle, wait for me to come out.”
Soon, there was the sound of rustling clothes coming from the room. After a while, the Knight Captain opened the door. He was about to scold his careless knight subordinates—these knights were his direct subordinates, and any problems they caused would eventually fall back on him, especially since it was the Earl’s prized war horse that had a problem this time, which made him quite displeased. However, before he could say anything, Brendel, Andrigraphis, and Medephis rushed into the room.
Enemy! In that moment, the Knight Captain reacted, Rong Ning had made a name for himself at the Yanfeng Castle for many years; he had been the chief of security there at a young age and was extremely experienced against enemies. He was accustomed to carrying his sword, and as soon as Brendel and the others entered, this middle-aged knight had already drawn his sword.
Rong Ning’s reaction speed surprised even Brendel; it was incredibly quick. If he were facing any other opponent, the Knight Captain would have had time to issue a warning. However, unfortunately for him, he was facing even more formidable opponents. Just the three of them, each a golden-tier, would easily secure an advantage over one. Andrigraphis and Medephis were inherently superior due to their races, and as for Brendel, there was no need to elaborate—given his current strength, he could even hold his ground against an elemental manifestation.
At least the eagle Dejyar was a testament to that.
As soon as Brendel made a move, Rong Ning felt a surge of fear. The gap in swordsmanship was not even on the same level. Instinctively, he wanted to retreat and alert the others in the manor, but just at that moment, he heard a faint voice:
“Silence Domain.”
Charles pointed from outside the room, and an area of silence covering nearly a twenty-foot radius instantly unfolded. It was as if all sound within that range had been swallowed by some unknown presence in an instant. The clashing of swords sparked a flurry but produced no sound at all. The scene was quite eerie, but our knight captain was not in the mood to regard any of it; as soon as the silence domain was activated, Brendel launched into an even more aggressive attack, and within three exchanges, Rong Ning had to abandon his sword and surrender.
It wasn’t that this knight wanted to throw down his sword, but if he didn’t, he’d probably lose his hand as well, so reluctantly, he dropped his longsword and raised his hands.
Only then did Brendel stop his offensive, pointing his sword at Rong Ning’s heart—he couldn’t help but glance at the knight, who still maintained some noble spirit. It was only upon realizing that no effort could change the current situation that he dropped his sword to surrender, which compared to the knights behind him was a testament to his integrity.
In fact, that was just how this era was; you couldn’t expect knights to do too much for their lords unless they were truly loyal vassals. Hardly anyone would make unnecessary sacrifices for their allegiance. The current scene was akin to the situation many nobles of Ridenburg faced as they fled in chaos years ago; Brendel couldn’t help but feel surprised.
“Who are you?” Rong Ning raised his hands but still fixed a sharp gaze on Brendel, shaping his mouth into an inquiry.
“It doesn’t concern you.” Brendel replied, “Now I need to enlist the help of your Earl to accomplish something. I can guarantee that his life will not be harmed, nor will he be put in any detrimental situation.”
“The Earl has no reason to agree to this, you thieves.” Rong Ning said flatly, though with a tinge of sarcasm.
Brendel shrugged, feeling a bit humiliated at being labeled a thief, but he couldn’t care less: “We control the situation now; that reason is sufficient. In fact, we don’t need you to do anything, just stay here for a while.” At this point, Charles had already initiated a soundproofing spell, thus canceling the silence spell.
Rong Ning carefully surveyed the individuals present.
“I cannot speak on behalf of the Earl regarding any questions.” He replied.
“That’s fine; I only need you to help draw out another golden-tier expert. Rest assured, we will only subdue him.” Brendel responded, “As far as I know, there are currently three individuals in this manor with strength similar to yours, aside from the Earl’s personal guard, there’s another who resides on the second floor, right? Given your position, you should be able to access the second floor, correct?”
Rong Ning fell silent, shooting a fierce glare at the knight behind Brendel; he certainly knew who had informed this young man of everything. After contemplating it, he shook his head, “Sorry, I cannot accept this; it goes against my beliefs.”
Upon hearing such a response, Brendel couldn’t help but look at the knight in astonishment—there were so few who still adhered to any beliefs in the current era. Rarely—before meeting Kuran—did Brendel think he might be the only one like himself, the princess, and the Valkyrie with such beliefs.
He shrugged and surprisingly sheathed his sword, nodding to the knight, “Alright, I respect your choice.”
Rong Ning was taken aback; he hadn’t expected these intruders to be so agreeable. He couldn’t help but frown as he stared at Brendel, “What trick are you trying to play? Without my assistance, you won’t even be able to go to the second floor. From your appearance, you don’t want to attract attention outside, do you?”
“I must achieve my goal; if not, I can only force my way through.” Brendel responded, “I’m confident I can control the situation in a short amount of time, but if it can be simpler, I’d prefer to avoid trouble.”
The middle-aged knight pressed his lips together, furrowing his brows tightly. Brendel’s words had clearly struck an accord with his suspicions; he couldn’t help but gaze deeply at Brendel: “To have nobles bleed in a zone controlled by the temple, you must understand the consequences; in Ampere Seale, for hundreds of years, no thief has dared to do so.”
Brendel did not back down, staring at Rong Ning with determination and replied, “You’ve made two mistakes, sir. First, what stands before you is not a thief. Second, I am unafraid.” As he said this, his resolve solidified. With two days until the noble meeting began, Brendel was acutely aware of how history had repeatedly fallen onto a path with no future. He would not allow history to repeat itself.
In the Amber Sword, he had met the princess and the Valkyrie; he had fought alongside many, but this time, he would fight alone.
Seeing the fierce determination burning in Brendel’s eyes, Rong Ning couldn’t help but pause. He didn’t know where these people had come from, but they indeed didn’t seem like ordinary thieves. Shaking his head internally, he wondered how they could be thieves when no thief dared to act boldly in Ampere Seale? He sighed, “Are you not from the Lergin family?”
The Lergin family? Brendel felt as if he’d heard this noble family’s name before, but it didn’t carry much weight. However, he could confirm they weren’t from Erluin or Cruz’s major families. When had the Earl of Yanfeng had issues with this small family? Moreover, they seemed quite tense about it. Brendel’s mind worked quickly; he suddenly thought that the Earl’s unusual involvement in the upcoming noble meeting might be connected to this event. However, that had nothing to do with his goal, so he quickly shook his head, “Of course not.”
“Are you cultists?” Rong Ning’s brows relaxed slightly but still furrowed deeply. He suddenly recalled hearing rumors about certain cultists controlling the nobility and couldn’t help but ask. However, as soon as he uttered those words, the knight behind Brendel suddenly changed his expression. In Vaunte, only one type of person dared disregard Lady Martha’s oath: cultists—which meant if Brendel were a cultist, his prior oath not to kill him would also be a lie. With that thought, the knight couldn’t help but shiver.
But Brendel shook his head, “No, we share the same faith as you do in Lady Martha, regarding dusk and chaos as heresy.”
Rong Ning raised an eyebrow. Cultists would never admit to such a thing. He relaxed a bit and after some consideration replied, “Then, as long as you swear before Lady Martha to fulfill everything you previously mentioned, I can consider convincing the Earl for you.”
“You agree?”
The Knight Captain smiled bitterly; how could he disagree? He could see Brendel and his companions’ overwhelming strength. The Earl’s three golden-tier underlings were no match for them, not to mention he had already been subdued. In fact, there were only two remaining golden-tier fighters available to be mobilized under the Earl. If they truly decided to assault aggressively, blood could flow like rivers in this manor. Considering his life and loyalty to the Earl, this was the best choice for him.
Rong Ning sighed. Yanfeng had once been one of the foremost noble powers in Erluin. During the family’s most glorious era, they boasted two elemental manifestation-level experts, holding status equal to that of Duke Anlek today. It was precisely because of this strength that the nobles of Yanfeng could stand independently from the other nobles of the kingdom, calling themselves a faction. Yet, a mere hundred years later, the Yanfeng family had fallen to such an extent that it seemed anyone could bully them, to the point they had to consider aligning themselves with other dukes.
It was simply a disgrace.
As the Knight Captain contemplated this, preparing to nod in agreement, suddenly an enormous explosion resounded from above their heads, and in that moment, it felt as though the entire manor had jolted. Brendel’s heart tightened, and he couldn’t help but look up at the ceiling. The explosion originated from the second floor. Could something have happened outside?
However, no matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t figure out what change could create such an effect. Had Little Romain dared to experiment with fireball spells in the manor at this time?
But to say the noise seemed like a great fireball, it rather resembled someone summoning a meteor.
These chaotic thoughts flashed through Brendel’s mind. He turned to see the corridor in disarray, with many knights who had already been asleep rushing out of their rooms. Brendel’s expression changed, and he immediately shouted, “Quick, close the doors!”
……
(End of Part 2. One update 4000, one update 3000, you understand. Originally planned to explode yesterday, but was a bit unwell, so we’ll start today.) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)
