Chapter 739: Act 96 – The Missing Food II
If Alorze’s curse were to come true, it would be enough for all the artisan wizards of Bud to be destroyed along with their floating city ten times over, leaving no bones behind. Even Brendel would be implicated; for example, our young female dragon had refinedly cursed him at least twenty times, causing him to lose the ability to reproduce.
Fortunately, Brendel was currently unaware of these malicious curses. He had made an appointment with Veronika to meet in the valley near the Breath of Despair. And indeed, the Crusian people had arrived ahead of them. Both Veronika and the Gray Saint were renowned powerhouses, and the weeping forest ahead would unlikely hinder their progress. Even if Alorze was slacking off, a mere level fifty dungeon posed no trouble for the Crusian.
As Brendel stepped into the Azure Legion’s camp, Veronika was inside a thick felt tent, frowning with one hand pressed to her forehead, troubled by the map in her hand. This map had actually been obtained through Aike persuading Duke Vieiro to provide it. The Lantonrand people had set off early and had long since arrived in Varlanden, and even Princess Veronika, who had left a little later, was already in the Manowell area.
However, to be fair, Duke Lantonrand had little friendship with the Temple of Fire and especially not with the Crusian people, but rather a lot of enmity. Thus, this female commander of the Azure Legion understood well that the young man named Aike was likely helping them out of favor for Brendel.
Thinking of the young Erluin she had seen at the Loop of Trade Winds, her lips involuntarily tilted upwards, but she sighed soon after. She certainly had heard about the happenings in Ampere Seale; being a general of the Empire, she understood its stakes. She had long known that the young man could become a troublesome opponent for the Empire, but she hadn’t expected that day to come so soon.
She raised her head and glanced at Mephistopheles, who was nearby with his arms crossed and eyes fixed ahead. The Gray Saint had scant goodwill toward the Crusian, so aside from discussing matters with Veronika, he rarely ventured elsewhere.
In fact, even if he were willing to go, Veronika wouldn’t easily trust him, as he was a significant threat to the Crusian.
“Your good student has arrived; aren’t you going to say something?” she asked.
Mephistopheles turned to look at her but didn’t reply. He had nothing to say to the Crusian. If Veronika hadn’t promised to help him restore his country, he probably wouldn’t even have bothered showing up here.
However, when Veronika mentioned Brendel, a hint of pride flashed in Gray Saint’s eyes. Brendel had severely taught the Crusian a lesson in Ampere Seale this time; even he had never accomplished such a feat.
The key was that later, by leveraging the relationship between the Bud and Silver Elves, the Crusian had been forced to suffer a mute loss—such brilliance could only be admired.
Mephistopheles couldn’t help but feel satisfied, but if the Crusian suffered more, he might be even more pleased.
Seeing him like that, Veronika didn’t take it to heart; she was quite used to it. At that moment, she heard footsteps approaching from outside the tent and raised her brows, her gaze shifting slightly.
She recognized the voices of Brendel and his companions, but what surprised her was how much steadier Brendel’s footsteps sounded compared to earlier.
Small details could reveal a lot to a powerhouse like her. There were rumors that the Earl of Toniger had broken through the Elemental Wall, but she remained doubtful. Others might not be aware, but she did—how old was he?
But at this moment, Veronika couldn’t help but lift her head in astonishment and mutter, “Erluin actually has another Elemental-developing Knight; for heaven’s sake, how young is he?”
Upon hearing Veronika’s exclamation, a faint smile emerged on Mephistopheles’s tightly pressed lips. It was well known that he was the Gray Saint, his reputation echoing not just in the Crusian Empire but across the vast lands. A lone sword challenging the heirs of one of the Four Sages, a massive empire—though that eagle, with wings spread wide, made everyone shudder, before him it was just as ordinary as any creature.
Yet ultimately, the Empire was not something a mere mortal like him could compare to. The Crusian would persist, while he would eventually turn to dust. People often spoke of dynasties’ rise and fall, but the cycles of dynasties stretch far longer than a single life.
After his death, who would remember the name Gray Saint?
But now he had a student, one destined to achieve even more than he had. An Elemental-developing Knight at twenty years old—truly a chosen one. Curiously, Brendel was not the kind of person whose fate was predetermined from birth, unlike Martha’s favored child.
To outsiders, it seemed he held his own destiny in his hands. This young man hailed from Buche, merely a mere descendant of lowly Highland knights; his ancestry had little impact on the trajectory of his life. If Erluin had an ancient nobleman who could plow his own land with his sword…
Then it had to be Brendel.
The late King Eke, the Flame King Gilt—these were merely equivalent. Some names were destined to shine throughout history, and Mephistopheles knew his student was that kind of person.
Perhaps the Crusian could still look down upon others for now, but what about decades from now? History always allows room for heroes; Brendel might not even realize this himself, but discerning people like the Gray Saint had already seen through the causal relationships.
He had always been proud, but he had to admit that the wisest decision of his life was choosing Brendel as his student at first glance. With such a student, the teacher would also gain glory.
Outside the tent, the wind howled, and since the onset of the magical tide, the sky remained dark—an omen of turmoil in any era. Heroes emerge in response, and even Mephistopheles couldn’t help but sigh.
Brendel had pushed aside the tent flap and stepped inside, followed by Freya, Xi, Medisa, and Charles. His first sight fell upon Mephistopheles, who nodded toward the Gray Saint—a symbol of respect. He was already a leading figure, but the latter was indeed his nominal teacher and had imparted much to him.
Now, Brendel felt nothing but respect for the Gray Saint.
Then his gaze shifted to Veronika; in fact, he had already noticed that the gaze of the Azure Legion’s commander had long been on him.
“Commander, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon,” Brendel smiled slightly and greeted her.
“Hmph, you should have been captured along with Andisha back to the Empire. I didn’t expect you to cause me so much trouble so quickly,” Veronika glared at Brendel, half angry and half teasing. “All your doing, young one! You probably don’t realize the Imperial Noble Senate is on the verge of an uproar—”
Brendel was certainly aware, but he loosened his cloak and casually handed it to the knight attendant behind him. Then he raised his head, looking at the Azure Legion’s commander with bright eyes, and replied, “Lady Veronika, you know that pinning all the responsibility on me will earn you no benefit. I’m not like those lame nobility from Erluin; you’re not like those arrogant nobles from Cruz, so you needn’t be imply it, right?”
“And I captured Andisha for you; the Emperor didn’t even reward me a bit,” Brendel added.
Veronika couldn’t help but look at this young man, both angry and amused. “Lame Erluin nobility” was indeed a phrase used by Crusian to mock the Erluin people, implying that Erluin nobles looked down upon the Crusian. A more derogatory term was “lame dog.”
But Brendel actually thought that “lame dog” was insufficient to describe certain individuals—he viewed the current Erluin nobles as a derogatory term in itself; at least compared to ancient nobility, today’s bunch was nothing but wriggling parasites.
“You still want a reward? Do you know who you killed? That was Williams! You don’t really think he became one of the seven deputy knights of the Temple simply by his abilities, do you? Behind every Imperial noble is a huge family. Do you have any idea of how big of a mess you’ve caused?” Veronika replied, exasperated.
Brendel shrugged, “It doesn’t matter; I’m not going to the Empire. They certainly won’t come to Erluin to make trouble for me. As long as Leipsen or Duke White doesn’t bring an army to the borders of Erluin, do you really think I’m scared they’ll send someone to assassinate me?”
“That’s also possible,” Veronika maintained a serious expression; however, Brendel mentioning Leipsen and Duke White did relieve her. She admired the young man and feared he might have acted rashly in killing Williams due to his youthful impulsiveness, but since he was aware of the strength behind that fellow, it indicated that he must have been prepared.
She scrutinized Brendel, sighed, “Hmph, you make it sound so light. If so, why are you here helping me?”
Brendel, having been seen through about his intentions by Veronika, felt no shame. After all, a commander of the Empire couldn’t be simple. Furthermore, Veronika’s family and Duke White had no interactions. As long as there were no connections between major families, there would invariably be conflicts. Brendel viewed this as a win-win collaboration. He needed Veronika’s help to maintain at least a minimal reputation in the Empire—at least not to be branded as a heretic. And Veronika needed his assistance; he believed that in the future, the ties between them would only grow stronger.
As soon as he started developing the Black Forest.
However, he hadn’t planned to voice these thoughts just yet. He smiled and sincerely thanked Veronika, “Thank you.”
While Brendel maintained a sense of pride stemming from his modern soul, he understood that his status was indeed not equal to Veronika’s. She was almost an imperial grand duchess, while he was only half of a count in Erluin since Toniger had never been a count’s territory.
He could feel her genuine appreciation for him and willingness to assist. Though it was clear that their positions might be fundamentally opposed, Brendel resolved not to let this female commander of the Azure Legion suffer too much embarrassment in the future.
This seemed not too hard to accomplish. Although the Crusian were arrogant, they had yet to reach a level of being universally despised.
He paused and decided to steer the topic back, asking, “Back to the matter at hand, we just emerged from the Black Forest outside; Commander, you must have been here for a while, right?”
At this, Veronika suddenly sighed.
“Yes, we’ve run into some trouble, Brendel.”
“Trouble?”
……
(PS: The proofreading took a while. Two more things to mention: first, do not ask me where Act 92 went! Second, given that many of you want me to address various unclear settings and time periods, I can’t possibly answer all of them one by one. I’ve thought about it, and starting today, if you have questions about the settings, you can ask in the review section. I will be free from 9 to 9:30 PM every night, and I will come to the review section to answer these questions. If you have questions that require face-to-face interaction, you can also wait until that time. However, I will try to avoid answering questions related to plot or character development. Generally, if it pertains to settings, I’m aware I have some contradictions on my end due to the long timeline. Let’s discuss and correct them together.) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) and cast your votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)
