Chapter 568: Act 316 – V
In the midst of wind and rain, a golden column of light pierced the heavens and the earth, as if an unseen voice was imposed on everyone. It said:
“Your Majesty, Erluin has not perished.
One day, it will exist for a long time.
That flag will also continue to fly over this radiant land, enduring and glorious.
That is the voice of the sword…”
Freya watched as the longsword in her hand blazed brightly, burning fiercely, and then another beam of light pierced the heavens—within the White Lion army’s command center, Commander Foster also stared blankly as the battle flag left by the former ruler, Eke, erupted in flames, and in an instant, a dazzling light rose from the flag.
It transformed into a golden light shuttle ascending into the sky, but vanished into the cloud layer in the blink of an eye.
All that was left was Foster, dumbfounded. The battle flag that had been passed down for centuries within the White Lion army burned to ashes in his hands, right under his nose.
“Brendel…” Freya’s voice was somewhat weak, laced with disbelief: “What is happening? It seems the sword is calling you…”
Brendel said nothing, for he felt it too.
The sword was calling him.
But it was not the Lionheart Sword.
He barely restrained his shock and turned to look at the Emerald Knight next to Freya. The eyes behind the mask of the Emerald Knight burned with a cerulean phosphorescence, staring at him as if trying to see through him.
“You know what is happening, don’t you?” Brendel couldn’t help but shout: “Gray Knight Krentel!”
The Emerald Knight stepped back a pace from Freya, simply looking at Brendel without saying a word.
Because in the memories of the undead, there was only pain. Yet within the abyss of suffering, there were flashes of scenes—a once familiar but now strange array of people and events.
Seemingly meaningless.
“Krentel, are you truly willing to vow to protect this sword? If you vow, you will never find peace, and your soul will linger on this land, unable to rest.”
“Your Majesty, for this belief, we have long abandoned everything,” the young man with light golden hair replied with a smile.
The elder sighed and glanced at him: “Krentel, I have separated the sword from the soul, handing one to you and one to Lucan. You will carry it to protect the royal family, while Lucan will become the next commander of the White Lion army—if one day the nobility truly fulfills my words, then you shall take it away and go to Rendener.”
“Until one day, someone picks up my sword again, remembering our vow.”
“On that day, the soul of the Lionheart Sword will surely acknowledge him.”
“Your Majesty.”
“Krentel, you once asked why I took the Lionheart Sword out of Cruz,” the elder paused for a moment before suddenly replying: “In fact, it was not I who chose the Lionheart Sword, but the Lionheart Sword that chose me.”
“Your Majesty?”
“The Holy Sword Odrefice embodies the will of the Flame King, but its soul resides upon the Lionheart Sword. His beliefs, his ideals, and everything the people of Erluin have long forgotten…”
“Krentel, never forget that the people of Erluin are also descendants of the Flame King.”
Amidst the sprawling rain clouds, another beam of light had permanently vanished with the burning of the former ruler Eke’s battle flag. But Brendel suddenly felt a great soul watching him from above the clouds.
A magnificent, powerful, and noble soul.
He instinctively lifted his head.
It was not the favor of the former ruler Eke, but a hotter, more righteous law…
Dark clouds were gathering there; however, suddenly, a beam of light descended from the cloud layer, striking Brendel’s brow. He couldn’t help but scream; in that moment, it felt as if a flaming spear pierced his mind, turning all his thoughts into a sea of fire.
He felt that all the pain he had endured before was trivial, as over a hundred points of willpower were rendered useless in the face of such mental torment.
“Brendel!” Freya was stunned, as were all the people around them. They all felt that the beam of light descending from the clouds was the source of the power surging over the entire Ampere Seale.
Yet it was clearly the resonance triggered by Freya’s Lionheart Sword; how could it end up responding to Brendel?
This misunderstanding was rather large.
Among all present, only Brendel, who experienced it all firsthand, suddenly understood why this was the case. The violent mental shock ceased shortly after it began; in that instant, it was as if countless strange memories and knowledge flooded into his mind.
He was too familiar with such things.
Inheritance.
“Brendel, you… what is this…” He immediately felt Otales’s surprised voice, which seemed somewhat unnatural; in fact, this wind elf senior sister had awakened for the first time that day, clearly startled by everything that had just occurred.
Brendel was equally shocked inside.
He had no time to answer Otales and immediately opened his character panel, switching the menu to the backpack section. There, at the very bottom, a line of burning gold-red text was clearly visible.
“Fragment of the Flame Blade Odrefice (Soul), Artifact.”
By Martha!
Brendel looked up in silence at the cloudy sky; the cold sweat on his pale forehead was blown away by the wind and rain, but in that moment, his heart was filled with understanding.
So that’s how it is.
He finally understood why he had resonated with the Lionheart Sword when holding the sage’s tablet back then. But the Lionheart Sword was clearly an illusion-grade weapon.
Although Master Berun had explained that the Lionheart Sword was one of the components of the Flame Blade Odrefice, he still had doubts. Because no matter whether the Lionheart Sword was a component of Odrefice or not, as a component, it would still be merely illusion-grade.
At least in the game, this had always been a clear distinction.
But now, he finally understood. The Lionheart Sword was the Lionheart Sword, and it originally harbored within it the soul of the Flame Blade Odrefice…
The two had long since merged into one.
And what resonated with him was actually the soul of the Flame Blade Odrefice, while the one recognizing Freya was the Lionheart Sword itself.
All of this had separated once again today.
Brendel turned back to look at Freya; the fierce flames that had engulfed the Lionheart Sword in the hands of this future Valkyrie had gradually extinguished, and the column of light enveloping her was slowly dissipating into countless specks of light.
The Lionheart Sword in her hand had completely returned to its past appearance, exactly like the Lionheart Sword in Brendel’s memory.
That was truly Eke’s Lionheart Sword.
“Congratulations, Freya, you have gained the recognition of the Lionheart Sword and former ruler Eke,” Brendel said with a slight smile: “You are now the true Valkyrie of Erluin.”
“I? Valkyrie? Brendel, what are you talking about?” Freya looked at the sword in her hand in bewilderment, then concern filled her eyes as she looked at Brendel: “Brendel, but what is happening with you? Do you also have a Lionheart Sword?”
Brendel lifted his head to take a look; in fact, the beam of light above him had continued to cover him since it struck him. The magical power pulsating in the air had not diminished, but instead was increasing.
Stronger than the resonance caused by the Lionheart Sword before.
Those slightly sensitive to the flow of magic could even hear the ‘crackling’ sound in the air. It was as if a huge power was flowing and gathering above the harbor, forming a massive vortex of magical energy in the cloud layer in an instant.
“This is true artifact resonance.”
A voice came from behind them; Brendel turned to see Nemeses, her face cold, catching up from behind. She glanced at Brendel and, seriously, asked: “You know what is happening, right?”
Brendel nodded.
He had always thought that only the Harbor Defense Corps was stationed at the north gate, but he had realized he was wrong when the Lionheart Sword triggered the resonance earlier. And now everything occurring to him further supported this point.
Someone had leaked information.
Or rather, he had misjudged the person from the very beginning.
“The White Lion army…” Brendel calmly looked to the north and replied: “And…”
In his field of vision.
Suddenly, a beam of light, brighter and more dazzling than before, was rising in the northern sky, shooting straight into the clouds. At the moment it struck the cloud layer, it formed a small point of light.
Then in an instant.
It exploded, clearing the dark clouds over the entire Ampere Seale, as if the storm that lingered outside the harbor had been instantly torn apart, revealing the blue horizon behind…
Above the sky, under the element barrier named Tiamat, a massive magic array was slowly rotating, like a limitless gear. Upon it, intricate lines were gradually re-drawing the laws of the world.
It formed countless patterns, either regular or irregular, but ultimately converged above Ampere Seale, creating a colossal magic array so intricate and mysterious that no mortal could glimpse even the slightest truth in their lifetime.
The magic array corresponded across a sky with a diameter of thousands of miles, reflecting the entirety of Ampere Seale.
Soon after, the second and third beams of light lit up as well, connecting with the fourth beam of light around Brendel, forming a complete link with the magical array above.
In that moment, everyone had to lift their heads in unison, losing their ability to speak.
Brendel also looked up, his heart filled with clarity.
The Flame Blade Odrefice has arrived.
The Crusains had also arrived.
They had finally waited for this day, the day the Lionheart Sword was revived, the day they reclaimed their artifact. They had arranged all of this long ago; it turned out that Merros’s letter to Wood conveyed such a matter.
So it was Princess Margadale who stumbled upon this secret.
Everyone was wrong.
…
(PS: Two updates, one of 5400 words and one of 3100 words; in fact, it’s almost equivalent to three updates, but I didn’t divide them that way for narrative continuity. The outburst, as I said, is guaranteed. As for what I want, you all know.) (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to support it with a recommendation or monthly ticket on qidian.com; your support is my greatest motivation.)
