Chapter 638: Act 1 – Awakening
A snow-white warhorse carrying the messenger dashed through the rebuilding Ampere Seale Harbor, causing quite a stir as it passed near the construction site of the War Memorial in Saintly White Square.
Pigeons took flight from the square, and workers near the scaffolding turned back in surprise, while a robed monk by the fountain paused to watch as the messenger, adorned with a sash embroidered with crescent moon insignias, sparkled slightly under the sunlight.
A royal messenger.
This was the first time in the past half month.
Something significant had happened, and everyone was filled with suspicion. But only those truly in the know understood what had occurred:
That person had awakened.
The commotion in the harbor over the past half month had finally come to an end.
…
“Really?” The princess turned her head away from her conversation with the attendants, her beautiful silver eyes revealing uncontainable surprise. “Wait, I want to see him.”
“Your Highness, please tidy yourself first,” an attendant quickly reminded her.
“No need.” Grifian, without looking back, hurriedly lifted her skirt and rushed outside. “Temptress, prepare the coach for me.”
In what felt like a long dream, Brendel experienced flashes of memories. Everything in the dream was both real and vague; he recalled the lumber mill where he practiced swordsmanship as a child, surrounded by many familiar and unfamiliar faces. Grandfather taught him sword techniques before everyone’s watchful eyes.
The scene shifted to towering buildings, with cars flowing endlessly. A senior was wearing a gray trench coat, wrapped in a thick scarf, reading something in a bookstore on the other side of the crosswalk. He desperately called her name, but she remained oblivious.
He ran across the road, but the scene changed again.
Everything turned dark, transforming into a serene lakeshore. A tall tower stood by the lake, reflecting a black moon in the water, with twinkling starlight floating in the sky. This bizarre dream seemed to signify something.
Brendel walked through the water toward that tower, spotting the shadows of wolves moving through the forest, chilling him to the bone.
However, suddenly the entire world shook, as if the dream was being extracted from his thoughts, and the scenery began to collapse. Light broke through the darkness, and then his eyelids fluttered. He could perceive a faint brightness beyond his eyelids through the capillaries.
In that moment, his long-silent senses seemed to come alive again. He first heard the chirping of birds, reminiscent of a delightful morning. But as he lay pondering in the warm bed, it took a moment to recall everything that had happened before, his fragmented memories gathering like pieces of a puzzle, forming a complete line.
He opened his eyes wide.
The light from the silk curtains made him squint immediately.
Then he clearly saw Romaine sleeping beside him, Merchant Miss half sprawled over him, her small face pressed against his chest, mouth agape, drooling a silver line onto the blanket.
Seeing this scene, Brendel finally calmed down. He was still alive. But where was this place? What was the outcome of the battle? What about the princess?
He soon realized he was lying on a soft, large bed, which resembled an artwork. The golden-curtained pillars supported an opulent archway beyond imagination, with countless light fabrics hanging down from all around. Such a scene immediately reminded him of the word “palace.”
He lifted his head and immediately saw Antinna, who was nervously watching him. The aide’s face was a bit awkward; in her view, the appearance of the Lord’s fiancée was indeed quite unsightly. However, she couldn’t persuade Romaine to leave Brendel; Merchant Miss held Brendel tightly, as if he were a treasure.
She could only sigh, “My Lord… you finally woke up.” There was more she wanted to say, but Brendel could see relief and joy in her eyes.
He understood why Antinna sighed. He could only helplessly accept Merchant Miss’s behavior. He nodded gently to Antinna and caught sight of Medisa behind her—beside the silver elf princess were two silver-armored, long-haired, handsome elven warriors.
The silver elves had indeed come, Brendel thought to himself.
“My Lord.”
“My Lord.”
“My Lord!” Medisa spoke up, prompting everyone to follow suit. Medephis looked like he was going to cry, and if it weren’t for Andrigraphis glaring daggers at him, Charles and Kargris would have given him a thumbs-up. Finally, Brendel spotted Xi on the sofa behind everyone.
The seemingly shy girl only glanced at him from afar, then appeared to exhale in relief.
“How did the battle turn out? What about the princess?” Even though everyone was present, the outcome seemed clear. Still, Brendel couldn’t help but ask again anxiously.
A frail but bright voice replaced Antinna’s to respond, “Due to a noble act by a brave young man, Ampere Seale—no, all of Erluin—was preserved. You can rest assured, young friend.”
The unexpected voice made Brendel turn back. He then noticed an elderly man with silvery hair and brows, donning a white robe and a kindly expression, sitting by the window. It was none other than Turiman, the Lord of Mithril Fortress.
“Master Turiman, you’ve come as well.” This time, Brendel was truly surprised. The silver elves had come at his request, but Turiman was an unexpected guest.
However, he had already guessed the reason for the visit.
“Indeed, it was at the invitation of an old friend. Regardless, since demons have appeared here, I should return for a visit. As for Wood, it seems I must apologize to you; I forgot that fellow is rather stubborn,” Turiman smiled and replied.
Brendel fell silent. He didn’t blame Wood, but rather thought of how the nobles had also been just as stubborn. If there had been a little room for change, the situation wouldn’t have reached the day’s chaos. The price of that indifference was countless lives and blood.
Turiman continued, “As you know, the High Priest himself deeply regrets it. In fact, he has already given up all positions within the temple, willing to spend the rest of his life atoning for this.”
“Oh?”
Brendel was a little taken aback. To salvage the reputation of the Temple of Fire to such an extent, Wood had indeed gone this far. People of their status generally wouldn’t easily make oaths, and once made, wouldn’t easily change.
Wood had effectively severed his own retreat, abandoning the opportunity to be promoted to the temple’s core. That threshold had only been a step away from him.
Though he felt this old fellow was somewhat going overboard, Brendel still returned some respect to the High Priest. If a person had such principles and pursuits, they wouldn’t be shameless, at least.
All that had happened could only be attributed to differing pursuits. Brendel sighed and asked, “…So, is the High Priest planning to stay in Erluin?”
Turiman looked at him with approval.
“My old friend originally intended to conceal himself in Erluin, becoming a regional priest, hoping to contribute something to the reconstruction of Ampere Seale. However, the temple arranged another position for him.”
“Hmm?” Brendel perked up at the mention of the temple.
“My Lord, the Temple of Fire has designated High Priest Wood as a liaison between the princess and the northern nobility. He has already accepted it,” Antinna answered.
“Liaison?”
Brendel froze slightly; this was interesting. He hadn’t heard of such a position in the temple. But what was the Temple of Fire planning? Did they want Wood to redeem himself, or did they have other intentions?
Truth be told, reaching reconciliation with the temple through this incident was the best choice. After all, the Temple of Fire was a colossal force. Even if a conflict with the Cruz Empire was inevitable in the future, Brendel at least hoped it wouldn’t occur immediately.
However, it seemed that the temple wasn’t ready to give up yet.
He frowned. “So, the temple still wants to mediate the relationship between the north and south?” The rigidity of the Cruz nobles had surprised him; he thought they would have learned a lesson.
“My young friend, what do you intend? Expel all the northern nobles, or wipe them out?” Turiman regarded Brendel with wise eyes.
Turiman’s words jolted Brendel awake. He suddenly realized that he might have been thinking of the problem too simplistically. Indeed, he couldn’t simply annihilate the nobles, nor could he drive them away. No matter how poor their reputation, he didn’t want Erluin to disintegrate immediately.
He deeply furrowed his brows.
Moreover, there were many excellent talents among the nobles; he had to admit that due to the disparity in education, the chances of talent emerging from the nobles were significantly higher than among the common folk. He could certainly work to ensure that the commoners also had access to education, but that wasn’t something that could be achieved overnight. The kingdom couldn’t be without governance for even a day.
Princess had already begun undertaking similar tasks, but achieving visible results would take at least a generation. In the meantime, he indeed needed the nobles to help construct the future of Erluin.
But the crux of the problem was that most nobles were overly focused on their own interests, and individuals like Aike or Earl Ouding were far too few.
“Yet we can’t simply let them go, especially considering that cultists have already infiltrated among these nobles; the Temple of Fire itself might not be at ease,” Brendel pondered, deciding to start from the simpler aspects.
“But they also have no reason to trust you,” Turiman replied slowly. “Moreover, you must believe that people do not make the same mistakes repeatedly. My old friend is a wise man; do you think, with his character, he would follow the temple’s orders blindly?”
Brendel considered for a moment; Wood, as a pragmatic member of the temple, indeed didn’t seem like a blind follower. He hesitated before asking, “Does he intend to stay and help Erluin? What does he aim to accomplish?”
“Hmm, it seems you know my old friend quite well,” Turiman raised an eyebrow in surprise. “The reason is simple. It’s apparent that my old friend has high hopes for you; otherwise, he wouldn’t have invited me here.”
“High Priest Wood…?” Brendel picked up a surprising hint from Turiman’s tone. Wood had actually reached out to make peace with him, and he suddenly realized that Wood must have recognized certain flaws in the Temple of Fire from this disaster.
Could it be that this fellow wanted to change the way the Temple of Fire operated?
He shook his head, casting this dreadful thought from his mind. “So, how does he intend to deal with the northern nobles?”
“That, I don’t know. But once you meet that person, you’ll understand,” Wood replied.
“Who?”
“You will understand when the time comes,” the Lord of Mithril Fortress revealed a mysterious smile. “First, tell me about your condition; I’m curious how you survived after sustaining such injuries. The People of Silver likely wouldn’t have that ability.”
“This…”
Brendel was slightly taken aback.
He suddenly recalled that he had faced the Titan head-on that day. At that moment, his life must have been below several thousand—of course, it was negative. It could be said that even with ten priests surrounding him after he fell unconscious, they probably wouldn’t be able to bring his life value back to a positive number.
After all, at that time, his indomitable talent lasted no more than half a minute.
Yet here he was, alive and seemingly in good condition. When Turiman asked how he survived, it was, to be honest, a mystery even to him.
Then a potential thought struck him.
“Thank you for saving me, Master Turiman.”
Turiman burst into hearty laughter. “It wasn’t me who saved you; you should thank this young lady.”
“Hmm?” Brendel was taken aback, then immediately heard a disgruntled huff. “Hmph!” He turned around and instantly locked eyes with a pair of golden orbs.
The golden eyes sparkled with dissatisfaction.
They held a crystalline brilliance, burning with bright flames within, captivating yet fully brimming with confidence. Those clear, transparent eyes belonged to a girl—her owner was quite short, with long, playful curls cascading down her shoulders.
She was still dressed in the same leather armor as before but had changed her eye color. The sword was nowhere to be seen, but she held a book instead.
Brendel recognized the title of the book—”Selected Recipes of Erluin,” inscribed in dragon tongue, and to his surprise, he could read it.
If an ordinary person were to see this, they would think it was a lively girl with a passion for cooking. But if they truly thought that, they would be gravely mistaken.
Because the little girl glaring fiercely at Brendel was, in fact, a dragon.
And a very angry, very dissatisfied little dragon.
She looked as if she were about to breathe fire at any moment.
…
(PS: Yesterday I organized the ideas and outlines for the new volume, and today I’ve typed out two chapters but will only release one. If I can write two chapters tomorrow, I’ll release them both since it’s a new storyline and I want to leave some leeway. That’s all for now.) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to support it with recommendation votes or monthly votes on Qidian (qidian.com); your support is my greatest motivation.)
