Chapter 646: Act 8 – The Deal (Part 2)
“Speak, what do you want?” The fairy lady had just opened her mouth when Brendel broke into a satisfied smile. At least at this point, he knew that half of his goal had been accomplished.
“First, we need an environment suitable for concluding our deal.”
Brendel replied.
“Hmm? What is that?” Tanyia asked cautiously, narrowing her eyes at Brendel, “Kid from the Cardiloso family, you seem to have coined more new terms lately, but it always makes me feel you have ulterior motives.”
Having ulterior motives is natural. However, how could Brendel admit it? He shrugged, “That’s not the case, but Aunt Tanyia, you understand that after the war, Ampere Seale is a mixing pot of all sorts, especially with the Temple of Fire and the northern aristocrats watching our every move closely. Among those northern nobles, you know what kind of forces are behind them—”
The fairy lady quickly took to the air, hitting upon a concern she had. She frowned slightly as she circled in the sky, muttering, “The Temple of Fire and the cultists are indeed a hassle. Especially the Temple of Fire, although they lack real power, they buzz around like annoying flies.”
Brendel felt embarrassed; in his opinion, only the People of Silver would dare to say that the Temple of Fire was like a fly. However, on their mutual disdain for this faction, they reached a consensus: “Of course, they should be thoroughly cleared out so they have no reason to exist in Ampere Seale—”
Before Brendel could finish, Tanyia interrupted him, “Wait a minute, you don’t mean to say you want us to help you regain control of Ampere Seale, right?”
It is well-known that Ampere Seale was promised to the Temple by the Erluin royal family as an autonomous harbor. In this age of increasing church power, the Temple has control over such lands in various kingdoms to some extent, and in fact, the aristocrats of Erluin had long coveted this juicy piece of land; it was just that no one had the audacity like Brendel did.
Brendel glanced back at Princess Grifian, who had slightly opened her mouth, looking at him as if she was meeting him for the first time in surprise. But what was that? Brendel thought, this was only the beginning.
What he wanted was a brand new Erluin, one that was not controlled by anyone, able to dictate its own destiny.
He had a plan in mind, and his tone became more confident, “Otherwise, do you think the Azure Spear can easily leave the boundaries of Erluin? While the Temple of Fire wouldn’t dare snatch anything from the Budas, they can certainly claim that the Azure Spear was unearthed from Erluin. You know, Erluin is also traditionally within the Crusian sphere of influence.”
He was not lying because the Erluin people were also descendants of the Flame King, and the relationship between Erluin and the Temple of Fire was well-known. Not to mention the rest of the world, even the Erluin people themselves believed they should be under the jurisdiction of the Temple of Fire.
Of course, except for Brendel.
Tanyia frowned, “Kid from Cardiloso, don’t you think that’s too naive? Do you really believe that the Silver Alliance can force the Temple of Fire to relinquish this harbor solely through pressure?”
Brendel became a bit agitated; this was something he had thought about long ago, and thus he had his retorts ready.
He had never felt that opportunity was so close to Erluin.
“If this were the past, naturally, it would not be possible. But right now, the Temple of Fire has made a huge mistake by summoning demons into this world. Have you forgotten about the Holy Covenant? The Silver Elves and the Budas’ wizards are all here now; what if you all requested that they relinquish control of this harbor according to the clauses of the Holy Covenant?”
“You have the qualification to do so, right?” Brendel asked with a sly grin.
He heard Princess Grifian take a light breath behind him.
Tanyia also inhaled sharply, “You’ve been planning this all along, haven’t you?” The fairy lady suddenly realized that things might indeed be as Brendel predicted. If that were the case, the Temple of Fire might really have to relinquish Ampere Seale.
Especially with the holy war imminent on earth.
This little guy was changing history—
She suddenly realized this and couldn’t help but take a deep look at Brendel. But Brendel was unconcerned and replied, “This is only to ensure the deal is completed. If the Budas have this capability, what’s stopping them from doing even better?”
“Even Aunt Tanyia should acknowledge that to guarantee the safety of the deal, we must sort out a quiet environment, right? Besides, in any case, the wizards of silver will obtain the Azure Spear; this deal is one where you all benefit.”
“Yes, little fox.” The fairy lady snorted derisively. However, she was not particularly concerned with whether Erluin could reclaim Ampere Seale; she just found it troublesome. In fact, she knew full well that for the Azure Spear, the scholars from the Holy Library would do anything.
Let alone just helping Erluin reclaim a harbor; what would it matter if they joined a mortal holy war?
The long lives of the People of Silver had shaped their arrogant and indifferent character.
“Good,” Brendel nodded in satisfaction. Clearing out the influence of the Temple of Fire and the northern aristocrats from Ampere Seale, allowing Erluin to reclaim this harbor, was merely part of the deal. The key was that this way, the Temple and the northern nobles’ tentacles would have a much harder time crossing this central hub to infiltrate the south, making it much easier for Princess Grifian to achieve unification of the Southlands.
Of course, he wouldn’t reveal these hidden parts that would just take up a share of the deal. He continued, “Next is the compensation I personally need.”
“What do you need now?” Tanyia asked irritably.
“What I want is very simple; I want to learn the methods of interpreting ancient texts from you, and during your time in the harbor, I’d like to research these three stone tablets with you,” Brendel replied.
In fact, this was the crux of the transaction for him.
No one yet knew what kind of bloodbath these earth stone tablets would incite in the future, largely because the knowledge inscribed upon the tablets was exceedingly precious. It recorded not just ancient history but also arcane secrets and knowledge from before the time of glory lost.
About the past history, and everything concerning the lost divine people—
But interpreting the stone tablets was a specialized skill, which even the wizards of Buda knew little about; now was a prime opportunity for entry. How could Brendel let it pass? Erluin missed the first Holy War and thus did not become one of the most powerful empires in the world of Vaunte.
But now, how could Erluin, with him in it, miss another opportunity?
However, this deal seemed a bit trivial from Tanyia’s perspective. She paused for a moment, perhaps not expecting Brendel’s request to be so simple. The fairy lady’s expression softened somewhat as she looked at Brendel carefully: “So you’re not really greedy after all, you’re quite impressive.”
She flew over to Grifian and sighed, “You have an amazing knight, Grifian.”
“Mm.” The half-elf princess nodded seriously.
Brendel felt embarrassed; clearly, these two ladies thought he was making such requests for the kingdom’s future. But in fact, this was truly a case of getting the priorities mixed up.
“Alright, I will fulfill your request. Seeking knowledge is a noble pursuit, and it is not considered part of the deal. What else do you want? Speak up, little fellow?” Tanyia suddenly said.
“Um, how about helping me with some equipment repairs?” Speaking of which, this was actually the initial purpose of his visit. However, he thought for a moment and added, “And by the way, could you help me find some magical equipment? That should not be difficult for the Budas’ wizards, right?”
“That’s hard to say; the lesser magical equipment has been mostly dismantled by those old geezers, and I can’t find anything better for you,” Tanyia replied casually, “Let’s see the equipment you want to repair first; after all, this is why you came here.”
Brendel nodded and began to take out the equipment from the dimensional pocket one by one. As soon as the fairy lady saw it, she exclaimed:
“Will-o’-the-wisp? How did it break like this?”
“Wait a minute, isn’t this the Crimson Blessing? Did you throw it into the magic furnace for reforging? By Martha, the Dragon God will surely curse you…”
With each piece of fantasy-grade magical equipment that Brendel took out, Tanyia’s eyes widened further until she had to adjust her glasses, staring at Brendel in shock: “Did you rob some dragon’s treasure? How could there be so many fantasy items? And are all the ones you want me to help you find like this?”
“Did you think I looked like a big fat sheep?” she couldn’t help but exclaim.
“No, no, you got it wrong,” Brendel was sweating profusely. In this era before the Great Magic Tide, his golden-tier equipment did have a bit more, but these had all been earned through life-and-death adventures, not from robbing a dragon’s treasury. To say that he indeed had a dragon by his side, but he didn’t have the guts for that: “I just want some charms, any tier would do.”
“Charms?” Tanyia paused slightly: “What do you need those for?”
“Not just charms,” Brendel replied, “Aunt Tanyia, what I need are charms that can enhance physical and mental abilities.”
“Ah,” the fairy lady suddenly realized, “Aren’t such charms needed by magical apprentices when practicing spells? Kid from Cardiloso, aren’t you the son of the Sword Saint?”
“That’s my grandfather,” Brendel explained patiently, “And I also have the identity of an Elementalist, but this isn’t for practicing magic. I’m not interested in becoming a wizard for the time being, but this is very important for me, Aunt Tanyia.”
The fairy lady raised an eyebrow: “I see, do you want them now?”
“No hurry, let’s wait until things settle down here.”
Brendel thought it was time to stir up some trouble for the Temple of Fire.
……
(PS: There was an issue with the network last night during the update, so I posted both today. Additionally, the outbreak this month will start tomorrow, and it may last until the end of the month, so I ask everyone to prepare tickets.) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please support it by voting with recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian (qidian.com); your support is my greatest motivation.)
