Chapter 549: Act 297 – News from the North
As precious auction items were being carried away one by one, the auction was gradually coming to a close. Brendel had bid on a piece of refined gold worth three hundred thousand Tor, one of the main materials for full plate armor. With this refined gold, along with the relics of the White Knight Aibodun and a portion of Anlek’s life savings, he could soon begin crafting the armor. Princess Margadale also symbolically bid on a silver ornament from the Wind Elf race, which she gifted to Antinna.
The final highlight of the auction was a round shield passed down from the time of the Cruz Empire’s Kanoff Dynasty, but both of them were not focused on it at all. The turbulent situation regarding Ampere Seale made it impossible for them to relax. Brendel and Princess Margadale of the Duchy of Antobro quickly came to a final agreement before leaving their box early.
Margadale needed to return to the temple immediately to avoid arousing suspicion. After that, she had to find a way to uncover the true intentions of the Temple of Fire and what unseemly dealings the newly appointed Grand Priest Merros had with the nobles of Erluin.
Brendel was fairly satisfied with this meeting; although the information gained was sparse, at least he had gained a solid ally within the temple and understood the attitude of the Cruz people. He trusted Princess Margadale’s integrity deeply; in another history, she was known for her righteousness and kindness, even being praised as “greater in spirit than in appearance.” It is worth noting that Margadale was not unattractive; her beauty was said to rival that of Grifian, a half-elf, earning her the title of “Queen Ain S.,” known for her beauty in the era following the Saint’s War.
Brendel had Antinna stay behind to settle the auction proceeds and retrieve the refined gold he had purchased while he left the auction venue, stopping a carriage at the entrance. “Seventy-four Scorpius Street!” The carriage quickly departed from St. Bino Square, passing through winding alleys— even in the bustling trade harbor of Ampere Seale, slums existed beneath the surface. The carriage stopped in a shed area on the outskirts, already purchased by Sue. Brendel walked straight to a house backed against the Ampere Seale Bay, and just as he reached the door, a dusty wooden door creaked open.
A feminine face appeared behind it, with fins on her chin and ears, her skin a jade green. She examined Brendel cautiously with her light yellow slitted eyes. “Lendris, hello.” Brendel smiled faintly; this was Lendris, a female Shining Scale Naga. Lendris nodded and stepped aside to let Brendel enter.
“Lord.” Inside the house were two male Shining Scale Nagas, one of whom was Saneer. He had been injured a few days prior in a skirmish with other tribes, rendering him unable to fight for a while, so he had been sent as a liaison for the newly appointed Duke Toniger. Now, Brendel was considered the most important “friend” of the Shining Scale Naga, not only because he had healed the Queen with Holy Water No. 1, but mainly because the shrewd Queen of Cold Dew valued his potential strength—someone who could casually produce Holy Water No. 1 was quite rare in the human world.
However, the first to speak was not the Nagas, but Sue, the daughter of the innkeeper. Her face was filled with concern, as if something serious had occurred. “Lord, something has happened.”
“Eh?” Brendel was momentarily taken aback, thinking to himself that he had only been gone a few hours. What could have happened in such a short time? Had the nobles detained Princess Margadale? “What’s going on? Did something happen with the princess?” he questioned, slightly frowning.
Sue shook her head and produced a letter. Brendel took the letter and, upon reading it, his expression turned strange. He had been having Sue gather information from the north to ascertain what had caused the Temple of Fire to change its stance. The letter contained just such news— it stated that Toquinin’s Gold-maned Lionmen had arrived three days ago to knock on the gates, and the Hallowed Temple of Earth had already begun war preparations half a month ago. This meant that, contrary to history, the Hallowed Temple had preemptively declared war roughly three months earlier, and the reason was… er, the Hallowed Temple was demanding the Temple of Fire and the Erluin Kingdom to return their long-lost sacred sword… the Sword of Earth, Harangia.
“……”
“Ha…” Brendel held the paper tightly, momentarily unsure of what to say. After racking his brains, he could not understand why the temple’s stance towards the Erluin monarchy had changed; he never expected the reason to be so simple, merely because the Hallowed Temple had initiated war earlier. Ultimately, it turned out to be due to him.
“How did this news get out?”
“It was transmitted by an informant I arranged in the north; the letter was brought in by a Naga. Now Ampere Seale has blocked all entrance and exit roads under the pretense of the monsoon season, and outside news can no longer circulate,” the tanned girl explained methodically.
Brendel glanced at Saneer, guessing that this letter must have been brought in by him.
“Is the person who received this news reliable?”
“Not really; they are just doing it for money. However, it should be enough to relay the message.”
Brendel nodded; the news of the Lionmen’s preemptive war should already be common knowledge in the northern regions, but it had yet to reach the sealed-off Ampere Seale.
The situation had become severe. The war between the Temple of Fire and the Hallowed Temple was a minor episode in the late history of Erluin, but it was anything but for the Cruz people. This holy war was as impactful among the Cruz Empire players as the Black Rose War was for Erluin. For the Cruz, it was a religious war, and the Temple of Fire would surely exert all its efforts. As a preliminary skirmish, the war in Erluin would be no different, indicating that the Temple of Fire was determined to maintain stability.
Even if it required the use of force—
This was enormous good news for the northern nobles, but it was a calamity for Brendel’s side. “Lord, what should we do now?” Sue was not aware of the subtle differences in the situation but understood this was not good news. She had at least heard of the temple’s changing attitude over the recent period.
“Princess Margadale has likely been placed under house arrest by now. The Temple of Fire will certainly not allow her to leave Ampere Seale. They will force Anlek to take a stance; the next noble assembly could be dangerous.” Brendel thought for a moment. By now, the royal party should have received the news as well—perhaps even earlier than him. The royal party’s informants in the north would be numerous; although they didn’t have Naga, they certainly had other methods to send information into Ampere Seale. If even Anlek turned against them, Princess Margadale would undoubtedly be in a desperate situation, and it would be questionable whether she could leave safely.
“Where is Romaine?” he suddenly asked.
“Miss Romaine has gone to the trade district; there are many associations connected to us in Ampere Seale. She said she would go and build rapport with the heads of those associations. With war looming, the market is bound to fluctuate, and Miss Romaine is concerned about its impact on the territory’s livelihood,” Sue seemed to want to elaborate on this matter.
“Did she go alone?” Brendel frowned, knowing that those big merchants, while appearing glamorous, often had unsavory undercurrents.
“Xi went with her,” Sue responded, glancing at him.
Brendel nodded. Since Xi had been granted the blood of the dragon, she now possessed nearly golden peak strength. In terms of power, she was even not his match. With her around, he could rest assured about the safety of the Business Lady. “Once they return, instruct them not to leave again, and also have everyone evacuate the inn, gathering here.”
Sue nodded, her brow slightly furrowed. Had the situation become this tense? Brendel’s plans were partially known to her, and having everyone gather indicated that the situation at the noble assembly was irretrievable, and next steps would involve armed intervention. However, in truth, Toniger’s power was insignificant in this vast chess game.
“Sue, do you have any questions?”
“I have no questions,” Sue shook her head, casting out a hint of unhappiness from her heart.
Brendel suddenly fell silent, realizing that bringing these people into this political struggle was somewhat selfish of him. Sue was the innkeeper’s daughter, Romaine dreamed of becoming a great merchant, Freya wanted to help the residents of Buche, Xi yearned solely for recognition, and the seasoned warriors of the Bronzesteeldragon, along with the youth of Toniger, ultimately had little to do with the fates of the royal party and Princess Margadale. Their presence here was simply due to his own idea.
Why should they risk so much, even their lives, for the rise and fall of the royal family or to change a princess’s fate? Unlike the deeply rooted prejudices held by the royal party and nobles, Brendel believed that there was no distinction in worth between people. Even a life as a beggar could be as valuable as that of a princess.
Princess Margadale weighed more in his heart not because she would one day become the regent princess of the kingdom, but because he couldn’t forget the precious memories of battling alongside comrades, Valkyries, and countless others who shared the same beliefs. But this memory did not exist for others, Freya included.
His intentions were inherently somewhat selfish, but there were things he had to do because he knew the outcome.
“Do you believe in me, Sue?” Brendel suddenly asked.
The tanned girl looked up at him, confused.
“What we are doing now may not necessarily succeed, but it will certainly be right. If we act, we might fail, but if we do nothing, we definitely won’t succeed. The nobles cannot save Erluin, but merely staying in a corner will not allow for a peaceful life.” Brendel recalled the inevitable second Black Rose War, where the kingdom would burn amidst the flames of war—mediocre reforms would fail to save Erluin.
If he didn’t take the plunge, history would surely repeat itself.
Sue lowered her eyes. “I don’t understand, but Miss Freya has chosen to trust you, Lord. Burying our heads in the sand will only deceive ourselves; that’s what you mean, right,” she smiled, “Actually, it doesn’t matter much to me. My father’s opinion is my opinion; he chooses to trust you—Lord, not for some grand principle, but simply because you have never failed so far.”
“Does it mean that if we fail, everything ends, while success allows us to continue? Is that the idea?” It indeed seemed so; he had only one chance and was unable to choose. If he could not succeed, then at least he wanted to fail spectacularly once. Because even failure through inaction was still failure.
He nodded, feeling relieved.
He turned back to Saneer, “Then please help me execute the planned attack on the harbor; I will provide you with the locations of the traders’ guilds and the details of the Ampere Seale Navy’s defenses. All the looted goods can be your spoils… But if possible, please minimize civilian casualties.”
“We are not bloodthirsty marauders.” Saneer huffed in annoyance, “With detailed defenses, we will avoid civilians as much as possible. But are you sure about the map you are giving us? The layouts and defenses of Ampere Seale are controlled by the Temple of Fire; can you obtain them?”
Brendel wore a mysterious smile; of course, he could not obtain it nor did he need to. From his experiences in another history, he had already become intimately familiar with Ampere Seale’s layout and defenses. “Don’t worry, there won’t be too many naval forces remaining at the docks on that day; I will create conditions for you.” Besides a few warships belonging to the Harbor Authority, the Navy mainly comprised temple soldiers, and Brendel was confident he could distract those soldiers.
Furthermore, a storm was approaching, and the temple would hardly expect an attack from the sea.
“Oh, right,” he suddenly recalled something, “Could you bring out the Sea Leviathan once again?” He primarily wanted to use the Sea Leviathan to cover the retreat. The Harbor Authority still had several warships, and the Sea Leviathan had the effect of calming storms. When they retreated from the sea, they would just happen to pass through a storm-ravaged area. Brendel did not want to escape from Ampere Seale only to be swallowed by fish.
Saneer hesitated for a moment but finally nodded. Brendel had provided the Shining Scale Naga with considerable benefits. This time would just count as returning a favor. Moreover, the Shining Scale Naga had suffered significant losses in the Western Sea War, and proposing an opportunity for them to plunder the Ampere Seale Navy’s warehouses and those of the trading guilds was an offer they could not refuse. Ampere Seale was the largest trading port of Erluin and the entire Southlands; if they could dig out the Ampere Seale Navy’s assets this time, the Shining Scale Naga could almost fully recover their losses in this war.
“Thank you so much.” Brendel was genuinely surprised. His relationship with the Shining Scale Naga had merely been a chance encounter on the journey to Ampere Seale, not expecting that such an offhand situation would become a crucial turning point for the success of this venture.
“It’s merely mutual benefit.” Saneer still displayed the same dullness as in history, casually wiping out the favors Brendel owed. If the clever Queen of Cold Dew were to find out, she would surely send him to labor in the deep sea for punishment.
Following that, Brendel decided to visit the half-elf maiden once more.
……(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider voting for it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
