Chapter 642: Act 4 – The Belonging of the White Lion
Even for today’s Erluin, the White Lion army is still considered a formidable force. The fact that Marquis Baltar used it to defeat the Crusian Lionmen in the Year of Spring Dawn is proof of this. But it can only satisfy the aristocracy’s complacency; what he really wants is a ferocious lion, full of claws and teeth, with a mane standing on end.
He pondered for a moment and replied, “Your Highness, I’m afraid I’m not suitable for this position at the moment.”
The princess turned around in surprise to look at him. Brendel’s furrowed brow gradually relaxed, and his expression slowly transformed into one of resolute determination. “Why?” she asked, puzzled.
“Um… do you want the truth or a lie, Your Highness?” Brendel raised his head, and at the horizon of Ampere Seale, a captivating shade of blue heralded the next round of storms. The air was thick with the damp scent of the sea as he and the princess walked toward the Square of Saintly White. The half-elf princess was just a tad taller than his shoulder, wearing a silver long dress, the thin satin clinging to her porcelain-like skin, while the grandly folded skirt resembling enormous petals perfectly accentuated the elf’s delicate form.
“The truth, Mister Brendel,” the princess said, her tone revealing no displeasure.
“Alright, to speak plainly, since the late monarch bestowed the sword upon Klentel Melberren, for centuries, the White Lion army has been the sharpest blade of the kingdom. Acquiring the legal right to inherit this army is certainly a good thing for us. But Your Highness knows that Sir Denford, Valen Le Reid, and the ‘Left-Hand General’ might not accept a stranger as the new commander of the White Lion army, correct?” Brendel referred to the remaining heads of the White Lion army, the Sharp Claws and the Lion Mane, as well as the commander of the Knights of the White Lion.
Currently, the White Lion army was only different from the time of Eke in that the Imperial Guard Corps was no longer present; it had been replaced by a new Imperial Guard after the glorious return in the last era, which later became the predecessor of today’s Black Blade Corps. The White Lion army still had the Sharp Claws, the Lion Mane, and the Jude Guards, as well as a Knights of the White Lion Corps, with the Jude Guards led by Marquis Baltar. After the death of Marquis Baltar, the remaining three indeed qualified to succeed him as commanders.
The princess disagreed, “This is the late commander Reld’s dying wish. Nicolas and Sir Stephen of the Temple of Fire can testify; they cannot oppose it.”
“But is that the White Lion you want, Your Highness? A sword that only appears obedient on the surface, how is it any different from those scheming fellows in the North? It’s meaningless for anyone to compromise; what we want is a true lion that is loyal to the ideals of the kingdom,” Brendel replied, leading the princess into silence.
Brendel could sense the unease in the heart of the half-elf princess at this moment. The quarreling Northern nobles could break the peace at any time, turning the situation into a mess—yet the critical question was how much time Erluin had under the threat of looming enemies and the severe aftermath of the Ampere Seale War undoubtedly amplified this concern.
If only they could secure two to three more years of peace—no, just two years would be enough. In Brendel’s memory, there were still five years until the Second Black Rose War and seventeen years until the Long Night descended, with wolves roaming the earth; after that, Vaunte would find no peace.
But before that, a war awaited Erluin in the North. If the Northern nobles could not be pacified quickly, how could they deal with the Golden-maned Lionmen of Crusian? Brendel felt a headache coming on. Compromise was absolutely unacceptable; the history from another world was still fresh in his mind, and he wished to slay all those damnable fellows in one sword stroke, and he couldn’t help but let out a helpless sigh.
“Does Mister Brendel have a better candidate in mind?” As they reached the coach, the princess stopped and turned to look at him and asked.
“There is one—Daughter of the Earth Knight Everton.”
“Freya?” The princess’s voice sounded slightly surprised.
“Yes, Freya, Your Highness. She is very suitable in both lineage and background, and she participated in this war, having fought alongside Marquis Baltar and won the favor of many in the White Lion army. More importantly, the Lionheart Sword recognizes her; this seems to be the intention of the late monarch Eke, and perhaps we should respect the choice of the holy sword,” Brendel said slowly, which included some information he had heard from Antinna.
The princess listened silently, and finally said, “Mister Brendel, I do not want to hide anything from you. Your thoughts align with someone I know well; she also recommended Freya to me to replace Marquis Baltar.”
“Oh?”
Brendel felt a bit curious. He had actually had a plan to let Freya lead the White Lion army from the start because who could be more suitable for this position than Reld’s student in history, the later commander of the White Lion army, and the Valkyrie of Erluin?
But this reason was evidently not persuasive enough for others. Currently, Freya was merely an unknown country girl from Buche, and while she was the daughter of the Earth Knight Everton, this secret was not known to many, and when it came to talent, she was not the most outstanding in this batch of the Royal Knight Academy.
So who was the one recommending this future Valkyrie?
“Nobody else but Lady Nemesis,” the princess told him, “You should have met her; she is the person I trust the most and can be regarded as my close friend.”
It was her.
Brendel’s curiosity deepened. The position of commander of the White Lion army had never been an insignificant one. How did this Lady Nemesis, the knight, see potential in Freya?
After all, not everyone in this world shared his ability to foresee the future.
For a moment, he couldn’t help but recall his intersection with that knight in the rain. The cold woman he had never heard of in history, who had an appearance almost identical to his senior but was entirely different in character.
He frowned slightly, filled with suspicion, and said, “I don’t know what Lady Nemesis thinks, but there certainly isn’t a better candidate for this position than Freya, Your Highness. The core of the problem still lies with the Lionheart Sword; the White Lion army also desires to retrieve this holy sword to regain the values of the White Lion. Moreover, with Reld’s teachings, their upper echelons surely won’t oppose it.”
“On the other side, a daughter of an obscure Earth Knight, Everton, may not pose a threat compared to what’s to come for those three. After all, I am also a knight at Your Highness’s side.”
The princess nodded gently, seeming to accept this suggestion. “And then?” she asked softly.
“I plan to let Freya and Carlo lead the way, making the Royal Knight Academy a base for replenishing new blood for the White Lion army. The White Lion army also needs a group of outstanding young people to support its future; this aligns perfectly with the philosophy of the Royal Knight Academy. Moreover, for those young people, wouldn’t the White Lion army be a better home than the guard corps?” Brendel continued. His goal was actually quite simple; he wanted a brand-new White Lion army, and infiltration and transformation were inevitable. He had no manpower, but the Royal Knight Academy was an excellent option.
The half-elf princess frowned, as if catching on to the implicit meaning behind Brendel’s words. “But will this really work? Won’t it provoke a backlash from the White Lion army?” she asked softly, her voice pleasing to the ears.
“Of course,” Brendel did not hesitate. However, at least the benefits of boiling frogs in warm water are that it does not immediately escalate conflicts. Right now, it was a compromise for both sides; the other party had no reason to completely reject them, but neither he nor the princess could immediately take full control of the White Lion army.
Neither side apparently intended to force the other into a corner; if they were to make the other side believe that he and the princess were striving to seize the future, the opposing side would probably only mock their naivety.
But mocking was fine.
Brendel continued to explain: “But if we can unify the South in a short time, what can the White Lion army do, no matter how proud they are?”
The half-elf princess took a gentle breath: “Mister Brendel, your statement contrasts greatly with what I’ve heard. But for some reason, I find myself more inclined to trust your opinion; just can we unify the South in a short time?”
Brendel detected confusion in the half-elf princess’s silver eyes—not directed at him but at the statement. He answered honestly, “If the Northern nobles don’t stir up trouble for us, we will have the opportunity.”
He was not lying. The Highland Knights appeared to be quite favorable to the princess’s side due to his status. Moreover, Duke Vieiro and Duke Golan-Elsen obviously were not keen on power struggles, making them potential allies. In fact, their only enemies in the South were Count Rendener and the missing Duke Anlek, not to mention Count Rendener himself had a deep grudge against Duke Vieiro.
But this brought the issue back to square one. “Does Mister Brendel believe the Northern nobles will give us this opportunity?” the princess asked again, seeming to understand it was a deadlock.
Will the Northern nobles give them this opportunity? The answer to that question seemed obvious: of course not, those scheming fellows would love to throw the situation into chaos.
But Brendel pondered for a moment and gave a completely opposite answer: “I think there will be an opportunity.”
The princess looked at him with curiosity.
Brendel thought of what the Crusian people and Turiman had said to him before; perhaps Wood might truly surprise him. In any case, the key to breaking the Northern stalemate still lay in the attitude of the Temple of Fire.
“The Temple of Fire wouldn’t want to see Erluin caught in chaos, Your Highness; we just need to wait and see; this time the Crusian people will give us a satisfactory answer.”
“But I don’t want to compromise with them; you understand that, Mister Brendel.”
“We will not compromise with anyone, Your Highness.”
Unlike Princess Grifian, Brendel actually felt little tension or anxiety in his heart. Because to him, the hardest and most difficult times seemed like yesterday; the darkest chapters of history had already been traversed, and the future would only get brighter.
And he just needed to determine that goal and continue forward resolutely.
The princess was momentarily taken aback, but it seemed she understood; her eyes sparkled as she looked at Brendel. Brendel gave her a subtle nod—some things were just that simple, merely a matter of extricating oneself from a situation. Even at the princess’s weakest moments, the Temple of Fire had never gained an inch from her; could the Crusian people now still hope to make them bow?
The situation had indeed turned.
A gentle smile appeared on Princess Grifian’s face as she let out a soft sigh. Turning around, she invited in her uniquely light, pleasant elven voice:
“The weather is nice today, Mister Brendel. Would you like to accompany me for a walk? I want to see the rebuilt Ampere Seale Port.”
Brendel was taken aback.
He felt those beautiful silver eyes were looking at him, the goodwill contained within clear as day. But he was in a dilemma—the princess’s invitation and an equally important arrangement for him.
Before coming out, Brendel had checked the experience gained from this war; it could be said that it was quite substantial, especially in the final battle where Romaine’s slaying of that Titan had nearly counted all his experience. But the only problem was that all this experience had now turned into a dull gray.
This only represented one situation.
That is, the experience had reached the ceiling of elemental enlightenment. What followed was a process he was all too familiar with: the elemental enlightenment tasks.
In fact, the timing was just right; the Ampere Seale War served as an important node for Brendel. After the war, everything had already gotten on the right track; as long as he pacified the Northern situation, he would have time to complete a series of elemental enlightenment tasks.
But there was only one problem.
That is, his current equipment was all in a damaged state; he couldn’t possibly complete tasks while wearing a set of broken gear, could he? However, repairing equipment—especially repairing magical equipment—was a time-consuming task in the game, and he had to prepare early.
Princess Grifian seemed to have seen through his hesitation and asked, “Is there a problem?”
“Well, I wanted to visit the workshop district first,” Brendel replied awkwardly.
“Ah, I see,” the princess seemed to understand, and after thinking for a moment, she asked, “Does Mister Brendel know of the most famous weapon and armor shop in Ampere Seale?”
Lusetia’s Weapon and Armor Shop.
That name instantly surfaced in Brendel’s mind. The most renowned weapon and armor workshop in Ampere Seale was neither owned by dwarves who excelled at forging steel nor by elves who specialized in magical arts.
Instead, it was a shop run by a fairy.
This shop was very famous in the game; however, it wasn’t open specifically for players, but rather served the nobility. Only a few players of noble status had enough prestige to enter, but Brendel, who dealt daily with skeletons, obviously did not belong to that category.
He raised his head, wondering if the princess wished to accompany him to that bustling, smoke-filled workshop district?
But he then heard Princess Grifian reply in a melodious voice: “Please get in the carriage, Mister Brendel.”
“Cathy, take us to ‘Lusetia’s Weapon and Armor Shop.’”
Before Brendel could react, he saw the maid personally open the carriage door for him.
……
(PS: Writing a bit slowly… It seems today I can’t catch up with yesterday’s update, I’ll leave it for later. In any case, today’s chapter is done.) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation.)
