Chapter 741: Act 98 – Two-Headed Dragon? (Part 1)
The ice and snow felt like the edges of blades, sharp and glimmering, freezing to the bone. The trees on both sides of the glacier stood like crystal, cold and eerie, while the biting wind swept through the woods, carrying the subtle sound of breath. Freya clasped her hands together, her gaze fixed on the vast expanse of white glacier below, where tiny black dots scattered—about a hundred people trudging forth. This scene flickered in and out of view, occasionally obscured by swirling snow. The future Valkyrie furrowed her brow, her eyebrows dusted with snowflakes. She wore a thick cloak that almost completely concealed the fur-lined armor beneath, resembling a hunter hidden within the forest.
As her field of vision extended outward, hundreds of soldiers cloaked in similar silver capes concealed themselves among the bushes, immobile, almost blending in with the snowdrifts. Nemeses glanced at her watch, its hands clicking almost frozen by the cold, but the time was accurate to the second. She handed the watch to Freya. “Is it them?” “It’s them,” Freya confirmed with a nod. The figures resembled what Brendel had described to her; besides, there shouldn’t be a third force present here.
“Lucky guess, that half-hearted lord managed to hit the mark.” Not far behind Freya, a group of Crusian nobles huddled together, whispering. Beneath the white cloak was a pale-faced young man with golden hair, appearing no older than twenty-one or two. But the insignia on his collar marked him as a legitimate knight commander. With a mixed expression of indifference and amusement, he spoke, igniting a wave of low laughter. Another laughed, “But Lady Veronika really believes that guy’s slander, letting that little girl take full control; it’s hard to believe.”
The others shrugged in agreement. “Just watch, she has no idea about commanding. At this distance, how can we charge? This is glacial terrain, not hills or plains,” the golden-haired youth shook his head.
“Bud, I heard they are the officer cadets graduated from the Erluin Royal Knight Academy.”
“I see.” Bud raised an eyebrow. The distance was indeed consistent with the prescribed range in the manual, yet Erluin’s soldiers would surely lack experience fighting on the snowfield; tactics ought to be adaptive. To him, this woman appeared to be a rigid doctrinaire.
“Just wait for the show.” He glanced over at them; they were competent soldiers and wouldn’t disobey orders. However, he was confident the opponent would fail and couldn’t help but look that way with disdain. “Everyone, get ready. They might spot us first, but they are merely private soldiers of Erluin nobility, just a bunch of country bumpkins. That country bumpkin lord has some reasoning; what’s below is likely just a fodder squad; we shouldn’t encounter much trouble.”
“He probably wants to train his commander, leaving us in a difficult position.” A tall lady knight, with a somewhat gaunt face, judged from behind Bud.
“He even expects us to disguise ourselves with a dragon’s might, rawr——” one person teased, mimicking a dragon’s roar with hands at their chin, eliciting another round of low laughter around.
The laughter finally drew Freya’s attention. She inhaled softly, turning to glance back with some dissatisfaction but frowned and turned away. “Don’t mind them,” Nemeses reminded her with a glance. “I know,” Freya nodded; this was her first true battle as a commander, and she would not be careless. She lifted her head, her light brown eyes piercing through the wind and snow, reflecting the soldiers’ movements once more. She couldn’t help but recall the question Brendel had asked her.
…
“Please stop laughing, Commander,” Shi Do said, her small face flushed with embarrassment against the snowstorm. “I’m sorry, Shi Do, but you really shouldn’t view the Erluin people as barbarians… heh, heh…” Veronika squinted her eyes but couldn’t suppress the smile at the corners of her mouth. She noticed the younger girl’s embarrassment as she turned away and chuckled softly, “Their late lord Eke was also a noble among the Crusian; in fact, Erluin and Crusian have the same roots, yet they have their own culture. Spending time in the empire with those fellows… what you learned really lacks perspective.”
“So, only by stepping outside can you see the true world.” Shi Do held her book, standing amid the pure snowflakes, glancing toward where Brendel was: “Will Lord Earl be angry?”
“No, he’s not that petty. Let’s go take a look; that thing ahead is probably something only he can recognize,” Veronika answered, tightening the fur around her neck, one hand gripping the sword hilt as she walked over steadily.
“Even you don’t recognize it, Commander?” Shi Do asked, a little surprised.
“Don’t be curious; that little guy is a peculiar one. He claims to have learned these things from the grimoires of the Black Tower wizards. Hmph, I’ve spoken with William, and it seems there’s some knowledge even he doesn’t understand. That little guy must have some secrets,” Veronika replied.
The scholar girl paused, unable to hide her curiosity as she looked in that direction.
Brendel slowly walked over a thick glacier, lifting his head to see what seemed to be a monument standing against the sky—a dark, towering structure embedded in the glacier, revealing only a small part. The entire structure glimmered with metallic sheen, the surface covered in faint blue patterns that shimmered like grouped geometric shapes cascading from the top, densely filled across its ‘body’; viewed from a distance, it resembled a temple sunken into the earth, but as he got closer, Brendel felt an overwhelming familiarity, reminiscent of the creations of the Hazell people, imbued with the style of constructs and industrialization.
He raised his head, almost envisioning the scenario of that object sweeping through this place. It fell from the sky, struck the ground, and the energy that erupted tore the earth apart, leaving deep scars that led it to slide far off until it lost all momentum, coming to a gradual stop, followed by millennia of ice encasing it until it was rediscovered today. He slowly walked along the deep valleys formed thousands of years ago from this impact, where the Frost Giant’s father, Milos, was laid to rest, attested by ten thousand years of ice and snow.
He was somewhat lost in thought—
“Mister Brendel?” Until a voice called from behind him, he turned to see Shi Do’s serious face: “Do you know what this is?”
She gazed up, slightly in awe of this great creation.
“You mean that thing?” Brendel was somewhat distracted; he glanced at the distant black column reaching into the clouds. His thoughts weren’t really on that. It was not anything significant, as such views could be seen in many parts of these glaciers; for the players, it was merely a backdrop, devoid of any import. But it was indeed imposing. He lifted his head to look at that black pointed pillar: “That is Milos’s remains.”
“What!?”
Shi Do was stunned, stopping in her tracks: “That is the remains of a god?” Inevitably, a skeptical expression lit up the scholar girl’s face—she was well aware of her own beauty. Some people often pretended to be knowledgeable just to get closer to her. During her time at the academy, she ran into many legends that were simply fabrications. She felt that this lord wasn’t any different; he seemed too unkempt to be a scholar, and besides, even if he were a scholar, few would boldly state such claims.
As she stared at the gigantic relic, she also found it hard to accept such an explanation.
“Do you think I’m lying?” Brendel turned to look at her, amused—this scholar girl consistently intrigued him.
“No…” Shi Do hurriedly shook her head: “But as a scholar, one must take responsibility for their assertions. Have you truly verified your words, my lord?”
That was still doubt, Brendel thought. He replied: “Actually, these are not my words; the Black Prophecy of the witch records this battle: ‘Milos disintegrated in the air, his remains scattered across the earth, most of which fell into this glacier, but one did fall into the Sea of the Waning Moon.’ The Bud people built a city on it called Onais; you should have heard of it, right?”
“The relics in the Sea of the Waning Moon are… are…” Shi Do widened her eyes, staring at the black ‘structure’ on the horizon.
“Pretty much, and in fact both the Bud people and the wizards of the Black Tower have confirmed this. What we see here are the remnants of Milos; you may have a chance to enter the White Tower in the future to study the records of the Silver Wizards, where you will encounter such precious knowledge, Miss Shi Do,” Brendel stated, glancing at the black tower on the horizon as well. “Thank you—” Shi Do replied softly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have doubted your words.”
“No need to apologize; there’s a saying among scholars: ‘Doubt is the gateway to truth.’ You must have heard of it?”
“Ah, you know, Mister Brendel, you truly are a scholar,” Shi Do said in surprise, holding her book.
“Cough… I’ve only read some literature on the subject; honestly, I can’t be called a scholar.”
“Such a shame, then.”
At this moment, however, Brendel’s mind wandered elsewhere, preoccupied with the actions on the other side. He heard the crunching footsteps approaching from behind and recognized the voice to be Veronika.
“How about it, are you confident, little one?” She had clearly overheard Brendel and Shi Do’s conversation, yet like Brendel, she couldn’t focus on the legends and myths at hand.
Brendel didn’t turn around; he simply nodded: “Don’t worry.”
“Why are you so certain that Anlek will follow this plan?” Veronika frowned, but she didn’t doubt Brendel; if she did, she wouldn’t have agreed to his strategy.
“Quite simple,” Brendel replied.
He turned back.
…
(PS: I spent some time discussing the plot with friends in the group tonight, delaying a bit, so here’s a chapter first. I’ll catch up on everything tomorrow; it’s been a bit terrible.) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please consider casting your support with recommendations and monthly votes at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)
