Chapter 546: Act 294 – Storm is Coming
A squad of guards in red robes hurried through the bustling market, their cloaks clanking against their armor like the sound of a whirlwind sweeping across the ground. Antinna’s gaze followed them as they crossed the entire market; the temple guards disappeared at the other end, and the uniform footfalls gradually faded away. She turned her head back, feeling that Ampere Seale’s tense atmosphere was even worse than it had been two days ago.
“I didn’t expect the Lionheart Sword to be in the hands of Princess; are the northern nobles really willing to submit like this?” Inside the carriage, there were only two people, and as the coach jolted slightly forward, the scent of Brendel’s perfume filled the curtained space, making the aide feel somewhat uneasy. She whispered a question.
“That’s why they postponed the next meeting by two days,” Brendel responded with his eyes slightly closed. The subtle changes at the noble’s conference forced him to abandon his original plans; Duke Anlek seemed to have given up on allying with the royalists due to pressure from the Crusian people, opting to remain neutral. Thus, some of the initial arrangements would not be relevant—at least not until they figured out the temple’s true intentions.
The temple’s intervention took everyone by surprise, yet it was somewhat expected. The temple certainly didn’t wish for Erluin to split or spiral into internal chaos, but what if civil war was inevitable? Just like in history—what mattered was how many months would pass before the Toquinin Lionmen were ready with enough supplies; creating a window of time to shift power between north and south wasn’t impossible—as long as the princess displayed enough strength to gain the Temple of Fire’s support for the south.
But what Brendel was speculating was what exactly prompted the temple’s urgent intervention in Erluin’s affairs; Merros had arrived nearly a month earlier than in history, and this was not merely a coincidence. History was subtly changing in unknown ways, making him feel that not everything was as he expected, and some things might not be as simple as he thought.
Ampere Seale’s atmosphere had turned subtle; Brendel had to suppress his restless desire, planning to observe for a while before taking action; after all, he had other matters to attend to today.
“In two days, they can find evidence to prove that the sword in the princess’s hand is not the Lionheart Sword?”
“Proving that it is not the Lionheart Sword may not be so easy; although that sword is indeed somewhat different from the past Lionheart Sword, after all, the Guardian Knight of the Lake is genuine, and Earl Yanfang can attest to that.” Brendel let out a sigh, deciding not to dwell on it further. After all, there was still High Priest Wood on the temple’s side, and the person he was meeting today; he would eventually find out what was going on that had made the temple so impatient.
“Yanfang?” Antinna looked curiously at her lord.
“Well, I didn’t expect you to have things you didn’t know. The first ancestor of the Yanfang family was a servant by Conrad’s side; before King Conrad passed away, he made a will for them to guard the sacred sword for generations, which is why Yanfang has such an exceptional status in Erluin. And the protector of the Lionheart Sword should be that knight by Conrad’s side—” Brendel replied.
“How is that possible!” Antinna’s eyes widened. “Isn’t he several hundred years old?”
“The Knight of the Lake is not human; he is a being contracted to the sword, dedicating his life to it. From the state of existence, he is more akin to the undead.” Brendel selected some credible rumors from his memory to answer; he wasn’t entirely sure, after all, as most of the information came from mixed forums.
“Then isn’t he very powerful? The princess has gained a strong ally.” The aide quickly returned to the political realm, making Brendel unable to help but chuckle, “It’s not as terrifying as you imagine; the Knight of the Lake has the strength of a developed element, but because he lacks a physical body, he is slightly weaker than Veronica of the Crusian Empire.” His subtext was that the Knight of the Lake was level fifty-seven, while Veronica was level fifty-nine, already a late-stage developed element.
Gray Saint Mephistopheles undoubtedly had the pinnacle strength of level sixty developed elements; beyond that was the extreme realm of elemental control. Dragons possessed such power by birth—but currently, Erluin did not have such entities. Humanity had to experience a long journey of cultivation from golden peak manifestation elements to breaking through the wall of elementalization, ultimately mastering elements to achieve the ultimate realm, but for golden and silver bloodlines, it seemed as simple as eating and dressing.
This made Brendel sigh in admiration.
“I understand now; the northern nobles plan to buy time, looking for a legitimate excuse to start a war.” Antinna reacted.
Brendel nodded, quite satisfied with his aide’s response. In truth, there was no intention of negotiation between the north and south; both sides were focused on Ampere Seale and the temple’s attitudes. Now that the temple’s position was clear, all that remained for both sides was war. He never expected such unexpected developments at the meeting; the princess’s side unexpectedly produced the Lionheart Sword; one can imagine Duke Siphai was surely pulling his hair out.
Princess Grifian was as clever and insightful as rumored; she produced the Lionheart Sword not to win over the nobles, but to proclaim the legitimacy of the royalist’s claim to succession in such a highly publicized event. There was no doubt she succeeded; the prestige of the Lionheart Sword among the citizens of Erluin was unimaginable. Under the pressure from the temple, the princess managed to counterattack with such composure; this was indeed unexpected.
However, as Antinna stated, the northern nobles would not easily relent, and Brendel’s purpose for this journey was to gather information. Of course, there was a secondary purpose.
“The princess is truly smart.” Antinna couldn’t help but praise.
At that moment, the carriage came to a stop. As the carriage jolted slightly, Brendel lifted the curtain and saw his carriage was parked alongside another carriage. He carefully observed the other carriage and then knocked on the window. The door of that carriage opened, and someone stepped out, who quickly entered Brendel’s carriage.
“Mister Brendel, I—” Margadale said as she hopped into the carriage while adjusting her skirt; the nun princess wore a light white dress, appearing gentle and serene, though she looked a bit nervous, her chest rising and falling slightly. After getting in, she glanced outside with a tense expression before closing the door.
But Brendel interrupted her, shaking his head and signaling for silence.
Margadale looked at the two in confusion.
“When does the auction start?” Brendel asked.
“The auction… we should arrive just in time; Mister Brendel, my friend is very reliable, so don’t worry, he will arrange your items well. But unfortunately, lately, the Ampere Seale people are anxious, and many are selling off artworks and collections. Originally, that manager intended for your items to be the highlight,” Margadale understood Antinna’s signal—Brendel was asking her to avoid mentioning ‘those things’ for fear of prying ears—Princess Margadale was also clever and quickly reacted.
“It’s alright,” Brendel replied. In fact, this was better. After all, the artwork that hinted at the princess was contraband, being too conspicuous wouldn’t be good.
Margadale took a breath and suddenly raised her head, anxiously signaling to Brendel. It was sign language, and Brendel was momentarily taken aback, realizing it was unfortunate he didn’t understand sign language—but this princess was indeed talented; history had mentioned her as a linguistic genius, having served as a diplomatic envoy for the temple in various countries before marriage. He hadn’t expected her to understand sign language as well.
As he was momentarily taken aback, he felt Antinna squeezing his hand. Brendel turned back to find his aide had already pried his hand open, using a finger to sketch something in his palm; he paused for a moment before realizing Antinna was helping him translate:
“High Priest Wood has been placed under house arrest—”
Brendel raised his head, looking surprised at the nun princess of the Temple of Fire, and he saw her seriously nodding. This news quickly furrowed Brendel’s brow; Wood and Merros were colleagues under the same organization, with no personal hatred between them. It was just a matter of some ideological differences. While he could believe that Wood had reached a compromise under pressure from the temple with Merros, he could not fathom why Merros had actually placed Wood under house arrest.
That was tantamount to a falling out.
Was that necessary? Or had the temple become so desperate? What could possibly have made the temple so anxious? He thought about this while suddenly flipping his hand to grasp Antinna’s delicate hand—his aide had never anticipated this sudden turn, her face flushed instantly, but she managed to stay composed, only trembling slightly—Brendel was oblivious to this, merely writing on her hand:
“Is there any news about the temple?” Antinna motioned, biting her lip.
Brendel knew this princess was truly a close friend of Princess Grifian and could be trusted. And Margadale had also heard of Brendel’s exploits, utterly confident in her knightly friend—in fact, she had been monitored and could not meet Grifian at all. However, the outside world was unaware of Brendel’s identity, which was why she rushed to seek this mysterious young man from Toniger.
In reality, she was stealthily appraising Brendel; the young man who was rumored to be unruly in the outside world did not seem as savage as said. Some claimed he was a bandit leader, but Margadale’s first impression of Brendel was quite good; he could even be described as gentle and a model of nobility—unlike the hypocrisy of Marquis Julian.
Margadale nodded; she was about to sign, but Brendel had already raised his hand to stop her.
“Anything to say, we can discuss it when we arrive; it’s unclear here,” Brendel stated.
Thus, silence fell within the carriage.
The carriage quickly moved past the central line of Ampere Seale city; in fact, Brendel had been to the auction house mentioned by Margadale in his previous life, and he had asked earlier merely to avoid drawing attention. This was a world of magic; while there were no listening devices, some spells could collect sounds in the wind, compelling him to be cautious. The carriage passed through Saint Bino Square of Ampere Seale, very close to the auction house.
Brendel even had the leisure to raise the curtain and glance at the scenery outside. But just then, a scream from the driver and the whinnying of horses echoed ahead, and abruptly the carriage came to a sudden stop, tipping sideways as if it might be thrown from the road. This unexpected turn of events left the two ladies in the carriage completely taken aback; they almost immediately screamed and tumbled from their seats. Had it not been for Brendel’s quick reaction in catching both, the two noble ladies would have ended up in an intimate encounter with the carriage floor.
The carriage shook violently, and Brendel held both ladies against one side of the carriage, barely managing to maintain balance. However, in that moment, their positions were inevitably somewhat awkward; Brendel’s arm around Antinna, supported on the wall with his elbow, pressed her delicate body against his sturdy form, even that not-quite-perfectly developed form of hers was tightly pressed against his chest.
Antinna’s usual composure meant that the sudden turn of events didn’t her shock her into a daze, but rather she clearly realized her predicament, her face nearly dripping with blood.
In contrast, Princess Margadale was blank, completely stunned, so much so that she didn’t even register being caught in Brendel’s grip. The nun princess had no capacity for self-defense; her body was as soft as if it had no bones, feeling like Brendel was holding a bundle of cotton. He couldn’t help but turn back to glance. She looked pale, eyes closed, in a pitiful state that made his heartbeat quicken.
After a moment, the carriage finally stabilized with a thud as it tipped over onto the ground.
“Ah!” Margadale let out a distressed cry, realizing that Brendel was pressing against her. At this point, the nun princess finally recognized her position, and she could not help but lightly struggle, wishing for Brendel to release her. However, Brendel had no time to manage such matters. Although he was unsure of what was happening outside, it was evident the horses had been frightened; if they panicked and dashed off dragging the carriage along the ground, it wouldn’t matter much for him, but Antinna and the princess would surely be injured.
Brendel reacted swiftly, instantly drawing the Sword of Earth from the dimensional rift, slicing upward in a wide arc. The wall of the carriage on one side crashed open with a loud noise, and then he grabbed Antinna and Margadale, making a leap out of the carriage. Brendel, nearing the peak of golden strength, found this series of actions effortless, even with only a moment to act. Passersby on the street witnessed the carriage fall, followed by a loud crash, and before they could fully comprehend what was happening, a young man appeared, one arm each around two beautiful ladies, landing steadily on the street.
‘Wow, this guy is quite fortunate!’
The majority of people’s first thoughts were such.
But Brendel felt nothing but rage; as Antinna and Princess Margadale were still in shock, he looked up to see that the two horses pulling the carriage had collapsed in a pool of blood, the driver lay groaning by the side of the carriage, bleeding from his head. It was clear that the two arrows lodged into the horses’ foreheads were responsible for everything. Unable to contain his emotion, Brendel’s face darkened as he looked towards a group of people in black robes and armor not far away, coldly asking:
“Was it you?”
……(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please support it on Qidian (qidian.com) with your votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)
