Chapter 658: Act 20 – The Firmament II
In this world, there exists a miracle that cannot be described by any language.
Every time Brendel gazed up at the spear bathed in intertwining lightning, such a thought would emerge in his heart.
The spear floated high in the center of the hall.
Rolling dark clouds surged around it, and arcs of platinum lightning continuously shot out from the cloud layer, striking the spearhead, then arcing away and dissipating into the darkness.
Within the dark clouds, there was no roaring thunder; rather, in the silence, everyone seemed to see a scene of the heavens collapsing and stars falling.
Blue light flowed along the ground of the hall, outlining the shadows of every protruding stone. The light changed like flowing water, the ground appearing as if it had a quiet river of light flowing beneath it.
Faced with such a sight, even William could not help but turn pale. Makarolo and Overwell had become as stiff as wooden statues since entering the hall.
With a soft thud, Tanyia, the fairy, dropped her small staff, yet seemed oblivious to it.
Romaine tilted her head back, her round eyes wide open, entirely devoid of her usual composure. Freya beside her also appeared shocked, while the Lake Knight behind her stared at the spear in silence, with Nemeses on the side looking enchanted.
“This is the Azure Spear…”
Brendel heard the Lady Knight mumble behind him and couldn’t help but glance back at her in curiosity, as her reaction closely resembled his own from that day. However, he did not dwell on it, merely waiting for William to finish his appraisal.
After all, except for these knowledgeable artisan wizards, perhaps no one else in this continent could claim the authority to confirm that this was indeed the true Azure Spear.
The wait was not long.
Just a few minutes later, Brendel heard William exhale heavily. The old mage seemed to sigh before stating, “This is the true Azure Spear.”
Silence ensued.
Makarolo appeared somewhat like a golem preserved underground for many years; he turned his head stiffly, stuttering, “Master… you mean this is…”
“Shut up, I didn’t ask for your opinion,” William interrupted him sharply. Although Makarolo was reputed as the cunning fox of the kingdom, he did not dare act rashly before this great figure. He momentarily froze, forced to close his mouth, his face displaying a grim expression.
The old mage then nodded in satisfaction, turning to look at Brendel. “The Azure Spear has reappeared, which may not be a good thing. How do you plan to deal with it?”
In truth, Brendel had already discussed a plan with Tanyia regarding its handling, but he understood the intent behind the grand mage’s question. According to the practices of the Buja people, they would usually seal off this place after conducting some research to avoid any trouble.
It was somewhat perplexing that the artisans and wizards, standing at the pinnacle of all civilizations, were among the most averse to courting trouble in this world. That is why they adhered to isolationism, ignoring worldly matters, and even took the initiative to eliminate signs that could involve them in trouble when necessary.
Not only the Buja of the People of Silver shared this trait; in fact, most of the People of Silver seemed to have this tendency. The Silver Elves also refrained from venturing out based on a prophecy, and even the dragon race of the Gold People sealed themselves in the Dragon Realm, with only a few young dragons wandering the outside world.
As a player, Brendel found it hard to understand the reasons behind such behavior. Some players believed this was a game balance design, as the power of the People of Silver was utterly unmatched by the Humans of the Black Iron People or the Wind Elves.
For instance, the strongest enemy Brendel had encountered since his transmigration was undoubtedly Andisha from the Loop of Trade Winds, one of the twelve Patriarchs among the Shepherds. Having reached the pinnacle of elemental mastery, she was nearly perfected in physical form, yet at such a level, she could only be regarded as a young girl before the power of Silver William.
—In terms of both age and strength.
And William was merely one of the twelve leaders of the male wizards of DeLora. The Silver Alliance had the Grand Library, the Pure White Tower, the Rainbow Sorcerers’ Guild, the Artisan Council, and the already disbanded Twelve Ring Spell Research Institute.
Because of such terrifying power, the Buja dared to claim dominion over the skies, standing on equal footing with the dragon race.
Such force could likely not be countered even if the Temple of Fire, the Queen Wind Temple, and the Temple of Light joined forces, plus the strength of the Nature Temple and the Everything Returns Society, as well as all the power of the Shepherds.
If the Buja ceased to practice isolationism, and the Silver Elves no longer remained indifferent to worldly matters, then the continent of Vaunte would not host as many kingdoms as it did today, but rather a confrontation of two forces.
This is why players speculated that the mindsets of the Buja and the Silver Elves might relate to game balance.
But Brendel did not share this view.
He believed that the pervasive silence of the People of Silver and the Gold race might stem from deeper reasons—reasons hinted at in historical records. Brendel preferred to believe that something had transpired in history that made these People of Silver so cautious.
Of course, he had no evidence, only baseless guesses formed from instinctual beliefs. His reasoning seemed ridiculous because he believed that the design team of Torrential Rain would not alter the history of the game merely for the sake of gameplay balance.
Thus, when William spoke, Brendel did not answer immediately, instead quietly pondering. As the grand mage said, the reemergence of the Azure Spear was not necessarily a good thing; it could possibly bring great trouble.
If he were still a player, he would have been willing to go to any lengths to acquire it. For a relic like the Azure Spear, any player would go mad, not to mention its legendary status.
But now, he was no longer just a player.
Everything occurring in this world would tangibly affect him—affect those around him.
After a brief silence, Brendel finally replied, “Let’s proceed as we discussed.”
The old mage fixed his gaze on him, as if confirming his thoughts. Brendel could guess what the Wizard King was considering and added, “Master William, if this is the progression of history, I think we can’t change much.”
“Ah,” William sighed, “You don’t understand, never mind, let’s go with that. You’re right; as the saying of Jiufeng goes: disaster cannot be avoided.”
Brendel was familiar with this saying, as Jiufeng’s background design referenced some cultures he was very acquainted with. He nodded and replied, “I’ve invited everyone here today, as they all had close ties to the battle against Ampere Seale, starting with Her Highness the Princess. Let’s have everyone try one by one. Perhaps someone here will become the master of the Azure Spear, and let us witness the birth of this momentous history.”
“Brendel,” hearing his words, Princess Grifian turned back, “I let you go first.”
“Me?” Brendel was taken aback.
“Yes, you are my knight, and in my heart, only you resemble that Azure Knight the most. I hope the Azure Spear will choose you—” replied Her Highness, “So I would like you to try first.”
Brendel was slightly dazed, surprised that the princess held such high expectations of him. He pondered for a moment, nodded to everyone, and then raised his head to approach the Azure Spear.
However, after taking just two steps, an overwhelming aura pressed down on him.
Before Brendel could comprehend what had happened, a figure appeared before him. At that moment, only a few present clearly saw that the figure clearly emerged from the intertwining lightning above, instantaneously appearing in front of Brendel along with an arc of electricity.
In that moment, a single word could express Brendel’s feeling: fast.
As a swordsman, such instinct had long since embedded itself in his bones. Given his current strength and swordsmanship, almost no one could approach him without a reaction. Even someone like Williams, who had great strength, would face at least a slight reaction from Brendel before an ambush.
Yet, the attack he faced now clearly fell outside his range of expectations.
Even including his experiences from his past life in the game, even from the perspective of a seasoned warrior at level one hundred thirty, he had never seen such a speed of attack.
Yet, he still recognized that the opponent’s starting posture was a classic stance employed by spear-knights in the game.
But no spear-knight would possess such incredible agility.
Before he could even blink, the lightning spear had already pierced through his chest.
Brendel was lifted off the ground before he could confirm that he had indeed been wounded. In that instant, he finally caught a glimpse of the face belonging to the lightning-formed figure.
But as he saw that face, Brendel almost exclaimed.
The energy being encased in lightning was clearly a woman. However, that alone wouldn’t have surprised him. What astonished him was how the face he saw was nearly identical to Romaine’s, though the Business Lady would never raise her beautiful little eyebrows in such a fierce, threatening manner.
With a plethora of doubts swirling in his mind, he crashed heavily onto the ground.
“Lord!”
“Lord!” Charles and Medisa were the first to react, and an armor spell immediately enveloped Brendel. The Silver Elf Princess instantly took up her spear, standing alone to shield Brendel from the Lightning Maiden.
However, the Lightning Maiden paused. Looking at Medisa, she threw aside her spear, and in an instant, the lightning spear transformed into countless arcs, dispersing into the darkness.
She coldly surveyed everyone in the hall, and Medisa finally recognized the figure’s face: “Ah, Miss Romaine!” she exclaimed.
“Ah!”
It was as if a chain reaction occurred, and Romaine stared in disbelief at the Lightning Maiden.
The Lightning Maiden slightly froze, turning her head. As if noticing her movement, Medisa raised her spear again, but at that moment, Brendel finally regained his composure: “Don’t engage with her, Medisa!”
Brendel released his hand from his chest, where the earl’s coat was charred, but there were no signs of blood. He took a breath and replied, “She bears no malice; she seems to be a guardian spirit of the spear.”
“Guardian spirit?”
Medisa turned back: “Lord, who… who could she be the spirit of? How could she look exactly like Miss Romaine…?”
But before Brendel could respond, a profound, magnetic feminine voice resonated throughout the hall.
“I am called Avina. And who are you, humans? Elves? And the People of Silver? What is your intention?”
……(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider voting for it on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
