Chapter 64: Act 56 – Witness
Brendel watched coldly as the nobles gathered together, bickering among themselves while their private soldiers shouted and panicked. The nobles wanted to head east out of the city, but what about their subjects in Ridenburg? Nobody mentioned that.
At this moment, no one was concerned about political struggles; their arguments revolved around what to do with their estates. Some insisted that survival was the priority, while others argued about how much they could carry—even those who would prefer to die rather than abandon their possessions, as if Madara would show them mercy simply for being nobles. Their loud quarrels and mutual accusations bored Brendel, and he lowered his gaze to wipe his sword—his recent strike had earned him 220 experience points, the richest gain he had received aside from defeating the Golden Tree boss.
It seemed that he had taken down a mid-level necromancer by luck; it probably never occurred to the necromancer that he would be chosen. Being of lower power among its kind, the mid-level necromancer, at over level 30, was immobilized by a gargoyle, giving Brendel the opportunity to pick up the spoils.
The mid-level necromancer had even more benefits.
Brendel split open the necromancer’s skull under the gaze of the gathered crowd, extracting a piece of bone from within. Then he severed four fingers of the right hand and pried open the jaw, painstakingly prying out the teeth and stuffing them into his pockets. His shocking actions silenced the crowd, and those observing looked at Brendel as if he were a demon—though it was still a necromancer and retained some human form, Brendel’s movements were skilled, akin to the most seasoned hunter processing their prey.
However, Brendel didn’t find anything wrong with it, as he was, after all, dealing with prey. Mid-level necromancers were different from those low-level cannon fodder; the fire of their souls had a chance to refine into gems suitable for embedding, the four fingers of the staff holder were magical materials for spellcasting, and the teeth could be used to create paralysis poison.
Thus, it could be said they were truly treasures all over.
Charles was more aware of some traditions and had run out from the private soldiers to stand respectfully beside Brendel. The nobles’ personal soldiers, serving for money, had lost their morale at this point, and naturally, no one minded him. The young wizard attendant could not help but recall everything that had just happened, remembering the scene of Brendel practicing his sword beside Count Duan’s corpse, realizing that every action of his lord had deep meaning, and was filled with admiration.
He looked at Brendel, feeling that even the wise Highlands wizard mentors of Karasu could not match such composure.
Meanwhile, Lukesons, after a brief moment of distraction, calmed down. Holding the reins atop his horse, he was not in a rush to flee like the others but watched the young man with interest. In his view, Brendel was steady, resourceful, and decisive, exceptionally strong for his age; had he been born ten years earlier, he would certainly have achieved greatness.
However, in the current Erluin, even as a supporter of the king’s faction, he could not help but shake his head. He looked up at the heavy night sky, unable to contain his thoughts on what would become of the country.
For a moment, silence fell among a few of them—
But only a genius knew that Brendel was currently calculating the best route for escape. He glanced at Charles, unable to resist turning back to ask, “The Pale Rider and the Black Knight, which one do you think is easier to deal with?” Charles was taken aback by the nonsensical question and momentarily did not know how to respond.
Brendel shook his head; he watched as the noisy nobles finally retreated east with their private soldiers, leaving the corpses of their comrades in a messy state on the riverbank, with no one to care.
“Gopel compared the nobility of Karasu to robbers; I think Golan-Elsen wouldn’t be far off,” Charles scoffed.
“This country is finished.” Brendel did not care if Lukesons was beside him, he spoke derisively. However, he did not intend to quibble with a group of people doomed to die. These fools would collide head-on with Tagus’s most capable general—the infamous ‘Dragon Calamity,’ Lord Tamara—on their way out east. Brendel had originally wondered how these individuals could all die in history, but now, understanding their foolish decision, it didn’t seem so difficult to comprehend—
“Aren’t you running?” Lukesons seemed not to have heard his words as he asked while on horseback.
Before Brendel could respond, a sudden gust of wind echoed through the sky, causing everyone to instinctively look up and just in time to see two massive skeletal dragons, one after the other, rapidly approach, growing larger as they soared overhead.
In that moment, everyone present was petrified—an indescribable sensation—it was both terrifying and graceful as the undead passed through the sky, the gray-black bones surrounded by burning purple flames, the fire bursting forth from the ribs; the enormous wings flapped, producing a heavy sound of wind as they flew over the crowd, the purple flames trailing a long tail behind them. The wind pressure made everyone’s scalps tingle, as if they had heard a piercing scream from the depths of their souls.
That scream was akin to a prolonged nightmare, breeding an atmosphere of corruption and despair within the hearts of men, as if bones were sprouting from the darkened earth, decaying tendons swarming with white maggots. The desolate land stretched as far as the eye could see, the sky was dreary, and one stood alone in the middle of this gray expanse.
Brendel nearly jolted back to reality from this mindset; he could not help but inwardly exclaim how powerful that fear aura of the skeletal dragons was. Just flying by had such a tremendous effect on those present. He could not help but look around, seeing the warhorses on the riverbank scattering in fear, or collapsing on the ground in weakness.
Then he caught sight of Lukesons, who hesitated when he noticed Brendel had regained his composure: “Come with us, young man. You see, personal strength is insignificant in the face of such power.”
Brendel looked at him and shook his head. He could not trust this guy right now, and historically, Lukesons met his demise; he had no desire to tempt fate. Having made it this far with great difficulty, as long as he could escape this city of the dead, half of his plan would be accomplished.
From there, he could peacefully level up by fighting monsters and await Erluin’s descent into despair.
Brendel saw that his good days had just begun, so how could he find himself in trouble again? He thought for a moment and decided to tell the truth to make the other retreat: “I have to break through to the north because my friend is waiting over there. If General Lukesons doesn’t mind, you could join me.”
Lukesons stared at him, hesitated for a while, but ultimately shook his head. The north, northwest, and west were all aflame with eerie blue flames, indicating that the undead army was invading from that direction; although he admired the young man, he wouldn’t risk his life for it.
But Brendel hadn’t told him that at this moment, aside from the east, the other directions were practically the same. However, the north was actually a little closer, and right now, time was an advantage; time was life.
He patted Charles on the shoulder and replied, “Then, if that’s the case, we’ll take our leave. If fate allows, I hope to see you again.”
Historically, Lukesons had not differed much from typical nobles, but at least he was a capable man. Moreover, he was one of the few in that era who could grasp the concept of nationhood; subconsciously, Brendel didn’t mind if he survived.
However, he looked at the other and didn’t utter another word. He was afraid that a careless comment might remind him of something; while it may not be a problem at the moment, ‘Tiger’ Lukesons was not inexperienced like Freya and Romaine, who had never seen much of the world—once he discovered a clue, who knew what might happen.
In those times, astrologers were respected, but charlatans were burned at the stake; Brendel couldn’t risk his life and future on such unnecessary dangers.
*
In the year of blooming flowers and summer leaves, on June 2nd—
Past peace reduced to ashes in a raging inferno that night, where the undead army passed left scorched earth, countless lives lost, countless couples torn apart, families ruined.
When people found that prayers could not save them, and the only nobles they could rely on abandoned them to flee, long-standing scars emerged, and distrust began to spread from the war zones back to the rear.
But Brendel knew this was merely the first step towards Erluin’s demise.
The news of Ridenburg’s fall only reached Fort Vamil six days later, while at this moment, Tagus’s flanking army had already threatened Ankezer, and the entire Vamil-Ridenburg defense line seemed to have collapsed in an instant, left with a solitary fortress struggling to hold on.
On the 11th, news of the undead army spotted coming from the direction of Vieiro reached Corvado, and the next day, King Obergo VII held a secret meeting with the envoy from Madara.
On the 13th, the Free Merchant Alliance of Ampere Seale declared their entry into the war.
On the 14th, the envoy from Madara formally appeared.
On the 20th, the front lines saw a temporary halt in fighting, and both sides established an embassy, with the war entering a long negotiation period.
But during this time, the war continued to progress slowly; in the first month, battles on the front lines seemed to struggle in a quagmire. The Madara army stirred up trouble everywhere, often suffering heavy losses due to Erluin’s sluggish responses.
Nonetheless, the royal court took pleasure in such losses.
Thus, the negotiation process was further delayed. On July 5th, the Madara army entered Rendener, clashing for the first time with the mercenaries of Ampere Seale, marking the beginning of the historically significant ‘Battle of Flangenburg.’ Instalung made a name for himself in this battle, leading the black knights under his command to repeatedly tear the flanks of Anlek’s mercenaries under the cover of artillery, ultimately determining the course of the battle.
Afterward, the Madara army continued to advance triumphantly, reaching as far as the capital of Rendener. During a series of battles, young names such as Instalung, Tagus, Vilander, August, and Greta shone brightly, but only Brendel knew what these names would mean in future history.
But history continued to unfold; on July 16th, King Obergo VII met once again with the envoy from Madara. Three days later, negotiations ended, marking the conclusion of the First Black Rose War.
However, this war started and ended like a flash of lightning; it seemed as if nothing had happened, yet it felt as if everything had already occurred. The only outcome of the war appeared to be Erluin’s repeated defeats, which seemed to have no other notable topics worth mentioning.
It was just that after that, for a long decade, Buche would no longer belong to those who once loved that land.
……
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