Chapter 602: Act 346 – Beneath the Abyss V
Through the rain-fogged woods, Brendel, accompanied by Freya, met with Wood. It was the second time he had seen the High Priest of the Temple of Fire since arriving in Ampere Seale. Standing beside Wood was Mephistopheles, to whom Brendel promptly bowed and said, “Teacher.”
Although Saint Ausoor had passed him the Wind Nine Stars, Mephistopheles had also taught him quite a few practical skills, and in name, they shared the identity of teacher and student, which the elf senior sister did not mind.
Wood glanced at Mephistopheles with mild surprise, “I see, you’ve taken a good student.”
“Indeed.”
Brendel lifted his head and noticed a few red-robed knights standing behind the two, narrowing his eyes in contemplation of Wood’s intentions. However, Brendel would never forget the lesson learned when Wood had him suffer a huge loss in the name of Turiman.
Seeing Brendel’s expression, the High Priest of the Temple of Fire managed an awkward smile, “It seems that Mr. Brendel has a deep-seated prejudice against me.” He suppressed the astonishment in his heart; even if Williams had brought ten knights of the Temple, there was no way the Cornelia fleet could be completely wiped out by the Erluin Royal Fleet. Besides, the White Winged Knights would also assist, but what he witnessed were the dejected Crusian people who were being restrained, along with the White Winged Knights’ flag tossed into the mud.
It was unclear whether the Temple had grown too fond of comfort over a long time or if their enemies were simply too strong. Wood gazed at the young man before him, anxiety swelling within him.
“High Priest, you are clear that the elves have the saying ‘each gets what they deserve,’” Brendel replied.
“Hehe,” Wood chuckled bitterly, “Thus, the bitter fruit I sowed back then, today I come to taste. However, Mr. Brendel knows in his heart that this is not prejudice; the Temple always needs a stable Erluin.”
“So you chose the northern aristocracy?” Brendel was aggressive, raising his eyebrows. Wood was right from the perspective of the Crusian people, but he had no obligation to empathize with the enemy; he did not have such good intentions, “Whether Crusian or Erluin, they are all descendants of the King of Flames and must uphold their honor. The Siphai royal family has long lost their throne. It is publicly known that after the Okaisi siblings lost the Lionheart Sword, the nobles vowed to dethrone Heinrich I and promised that his descendants would no longer covet the throne. Thus, aside from Prince Haruze, Erluin has no other heirs.”
“I admit that the Temple did not consider this matter thoroughly. Merros was too stubborn, and I could not stop him,” Wood sighed.
This guy, Brendel stared as Wood placed the blame onto the already dead Merros. Unlike Williams, Wood was a typical pragmatist, but for him to say such a thing was already considered a concession. This made Brendel feel a bit on edge, as the Temple’s offer to compromise came almost without necessity.
He watched Wood warily.
The High Priest of the Temple of Fire again offered a bitter smile, “You need not doubt, I am here to request peace on behalf of the Temple of Fire from Princess Grifian.”
“Ah.” Freya, standing behind Brendel, could not help but let out a soft gasp.
Now it was Brendel’s turn to be surprised. Was it merely for the Cornelia fleet? Was the Empire’s face not more important than a local fleet? If the Crusian people thought this way, they would indeed be a formidable opponent. But Brendel also considered another possibility, “Williams is already dead.”
“Did he die by your hand?” Wood was taken aback.
“Precisely.” Brendel nodded. This was an undeniable secret, and with Mephistopheles right beside him, he was not worried about the Crusian people turning hostile.
The High Priest of the Temple of Fire fell silent. “This indeed is a problem,” he murmured, “However, Williams was hot-tempered and arrogant. His obstinacy leading to his death far from home is not altogether unreasonable.”
“What?” Brendel nearly thought he had misheard.
“Brendel, the Crusian people are likely too busy to bite others, just like the dog that fell into the muddy pond while vying for a bone. They cannot even protect themselves. But we also have a problem; yet now you can certainly set conditions with them,” Mephistopheles finally spoke, causing the knights behind Wood to glare at him with anger.
“Cannot protect themselves?”
“Mr. Brendel, I hope the princess will abandon the pursuit of the Cornelia fleet,” Wood said.
“This is impossible,” Brendel firmly rejected, but he hesitated and asked, “What are the conditions?”
Wood smiled. As he had predicted, the true mastermind behind the princess’s side was this young man. What made him uneasy was that the other party was of a similar type; this time the Temple would likely have to bleed profusely. “We can let the northern aristocracy yield Ampere Seale.”
“You mean we must coexist peacefully with those usurpers? After annihilating the Cornelia fleet, we could also take the opportunity to march north.”
Wood was already quite clear on how people like Brendel operated; they would consider the results adequately before issuing such orders, so he would not threaten him with retaliation from the Temple, as that would be meaningless. He considered for a moment and said, “Just as you said, the Corvado royal family should continue to hold the throne, but there are many northern nobles; it will take time to ease their suspicions. It would be better for Erluin to unify peacefully than to confront each other.”
Brendel stared at the High Priest of the Temple of Fire, understanding Wood’s insinuation. Wood was suggesting the recognition of the Corvado royal family’s legitimacy, which would remove any de facto support for the northern factions, causing the kingdom’s internal strife to naturally dissipate.
But this seemed too easy; would the Temple really compromise so thoroughly? The remaining forces in the north were not without the ability to battle against the princess. Even if they failed, the Crusian people could be obstinate. Or perhaps this was another trap; he couldn’t help but deeply doubt it.
“Mr. Brendel, you need not doubt this time about another deception. I will tell you the reason; just listen and you will understand, and the reason lies with Merros.”
“Merros?”
“You should know, he killed Princess Margadale.”
“No, wait,” Brendel suddenly realized, considering a very terrifying possibility. “Didn’t Princess Margadale get silenced because she uncovered your secret?”
Wood’s expression darkened. “How could the Temple do such a thing? Moreover, she did not know the Temple’s plan from beginning to end. The summoning of Williams from the main hall to request imperial reinforcements was merely a spur-of-the-moment decision after I read Merros’s letter. No one aside from Merros himself knew.”
“So you mean the princess uncovered another secret?”
“Perhaps that is indeed the case,” Wood said solemnly, “Mr. Brendel, Merros is likely a spy for the Everything Returns Society.”
“Ah!” Brendel could not help but exclaim. “So you opened the Flame Portal of the Temple in Ampere Seale port?” Seeing Wood’s serious gaze, he knew the following words were unnecessary.
At that moment, Brendel felt as if he had a bucket of cold water poured over him.
The situation has become severe.
He finally understood why Wood had come to seek peace; it turned out this whole matter was a massive conspiracy. If Merros was a spy for the Everything Returns Society, then he must have known from the very beginning that the Temple of Fire would place the Flame Portal in Ampere Seale. Perhaps he had guided it, as the goal of the Everything Returns Society was those Flame Portals.
The Flame Portal was like a massive teleportation array; the core of the array pointed to a designated transport target, but the array itself possessed no intelligence. With slight modifications, it could connect to other places.
For instance, the demon’s lair, the River of Sulfur.
A chill suddenly ran down Brendel’s spine.
Brendel, Romaine said she discovered a trap and that she would come to help you. Initially, this was the first sentence Antinna brought to him when they met. He thought she was referring to the Temple’s plot and was angry at her childishness, but at this moment he suddenly realized that the Merchant Miss might have long known what she was facing—she had known of the conspiracy he was unaware of.
For the first time, Brendel felt extreme unease, even harboring thoughts that he might forever lose that carefree lovely person who always stood by his side.
Once this thought emerged, it became unstoppable, making him feel increasingly cold in the rain. Since Buche, Brendel had known there was at least one person in this world who would forever be by his side. He could playfully pinch her cheeks, call her a silly girl, and she would glare back at him, sulking.
But he would never forget that promise, the words she had said to him that night.
“Why don’t you go over there?” the Merchant Miss seemed to still sit on that rock, her hands holding a bag on her lap, her round-toed shoes swinging back and forth in the air.
“They don’t like me.”
“Why?”
“Both my aunt and I are seen as freaks to them; besides, no ordinary girl would want to become a merchant. So it’s only natural that I’m not favored.”
“I’ve never seen them; since I can remember, it’s been my aunt by my side. She always said, ‘Little Romain, when you grow up, you must repay your aunt well!’”
“So that’s why you want to become a merchant?”
“Mm.”
“What a strange thought.”
“It’s alright—”
From that moment on, he understood he had deep feelings for that quirky girl. Because they shared some common characteristics, he, too, was seen as a freak in the eyes of others, but they both harbored strange ambitions that ordinary people could not imagine.
She wanted to become a great merchant, and he wanted to save the Erluin in his heart. Those were bizarre goals, but it didn’t matter—
As long as they had made a promise.
“Brendel, Romaine…” Freya also realized this; the girl from the rural Buche with her pure thoughts was even more worried about her best friend than Brendel was.
But Brendel gave her a reassuring look, even though he felt a chill in his heart. “High Priest Wood, do you think the Everything Returns Society can control those Flame Portals?” he seized the last opportunity to ask.
“Mr. Brendel, this does not require speculation; just before coming here, we had lost them. The Everything Returns Society connected them to the underground of Jotungrund; you should know what that place is.”
“The River of Sulfur,” Brendel gritted his teeth and replied. “So what should I do? Order the pursuit of the Cornelia fleet to stop and then turn around to fight the demons of Jotungrund right here, on the soil of Erluin?” He could not help but curse, “Look at the mess you’ve made, you Crusian bastards! What a load of rubbish the Temple of Fire is!”
This was the first time Freya had seen Brendel so furious, and she turned pale. The last time was in Ridenburg, but she was not present then.
“Good job cursing,” Mephistopheles replied, “Now that’s more like a man.”
Wood was left speechless; the Temple of Fire—even the four major Temples had been infiltrated by cultists—that was an undeniable fact. However, the situation had never exceeded their expectations like today; this time the Temple of Fire had truly lost face on a grand scale, even worse than when Brendel had defeated the Crusian fleet. “We will fight alongside you,” he could only say.
Brendel snorted lightly; he did not trust these Crusians at all. If he had known from the beginning that Merros was a spy for the Everything Returns Society, he might have guessed their plans the moment he saw those portals. Unfortunately, history had seen Merros miss that opportunity; no major battle occurred in Ampere Seale, and the Crusians would only construct the Flame Portal in Erluin after his tenure.
Later, Merros returned to Crusian territory, Brendel headed north to Saint Ausoor and Fanzan, and later, news of the Temple of Fire gradually faded from his memory.
And he forever missed the chance to identify Merros.
“Alright,” Brendel finally said, “I will persuade Her Highness to order the abandonment of the pursuit of the Cornelia fleet. However, you must also persuade the northern coalition to join our side. If you let the situation continue to develop, High Priest, you know better than me what will happen near Ampere Seale.”
He pointed at Wood and said, “I hope High Priest will remember the words spoken today; otherwise, you will regret your prior words and actions.”
Brendel’s anger burned fiercely in his heart, but now he was only worried about the Merchant Miss’s safety. If anything happened to Romaine in Ampere Seale, he would make the Temple of Fire pay the price.
This was not an empty threat.
As he turned to leave, Wood vaguely heard Brendel muttering, “I hope the army of demons transported over by the Everything Returns Society isn’t too numerous.” The High Priest of the Temple of Fire seemed to freeze for a moment before responding.
This young man seemed to know too much?
