Chapter 765: Act 118 – Eternity XIX
In the uneven light of the torch, a deep blue layer of ice formed a vaulted cavity, the low temperature causing moisture to form a thin mist, seemingly freezing sound as well.
“Brendel,” Veronika’s voice echoed with a buzzing resonance. The lady turned her head, her emerald green eyes reflecting the flickering flame, “How long do you think it will take for Anlek to reach the center of this temple?”
“Half a day, or forever; it depends on how well Anlek knows this place,” Brendel responded, clarity in his mind regarding Veronika’s question. He looked into the depths of the ice cave through the torchlight, his gaze solemn, “However, Anlek’s cunning is well documented in the bard’s songs. He rules with an iron fist atop the plateau. A person like that would not seek his own destruction, would he?”
“The fanaticism for the belief in the unity of all things could drive him to do so, but it wouldn’t necessarily be foolish. I’ve dealt with those fellows, and I know them well,” Veronika replied, looking at him.
“So we have half a day then?”
“The worst-case scenario is that, perhaps even more, but it’s not worth counting on,” Brendel answered.
“Can we make it before that?”
Brendel did not answer the question. He turned back, his gaze fixed on someone—no, on a dragon. The dragon he focused on, Shi Ta, wore an unhappy expression. The little chubby dragon wiped the honey off the corner of his mouth, frowning as he mumbled, “Don’t look at me like that. This road has to be faster; I swore—”
“Swore with what?” Brendel inquired carefully. “For instance, swore on the third golden scale beneath Bahamut’s neck?”
“Ah, you guy!” Shi Ta shouted. In the second war against dusk, the Midgard Serpent Jörmungandr bit Bahamut’s neck, causing that third golden scale to fall off and be lost. Just like a soldier’s scar represents a badge, for similar reasons, the dragon race views this lost scale as a symbol of everlasting courage and honor.
To swear upon that golden scale is to make the most sacred oath of the dragon race, which even a cynical fellow like Shi Ta would not dare disobey lightly.
“Do you know what you’re saying? You’re asking me to make a sacred oath!?” the little chubby dragon exclaimed in exasperation.
“But unfortunately, isn’t it I who am in the more unfortunate position? You work for me, yet I have to make my own employee swear in order to believe your words. Is there a more unfortunate employer in the world? Martha watches everything that happens in this mundane world from above, but nothing is more absurd than this. Shi Ta, some people have also advised me not to trust you easily; you know why—” Brendel glanced at the young female dragon before he slowly replied.
Shi Ta opened his mouth then mumbled, “That was for the enemies, that’s not lying…”
“Since it’s not lying, then swearing doesn’t harm anyone’s honor, does it?” Brendel smiled slightly. The nearby Shi Do and Xi felt at that moment that the smile of this lord was indeed one reminiscent of a noble, a lord.
Confident, hiding cunning—
“Alright, alright,” Shi Ta answered in frustration before everyone, “I swear on the third scale of the Dragon God that all of this is true, this road will definitely be the fastest shortcut; I bet we will arrive before that old human as long as—”
“As long as?”
“As long as we don’t take the wrong road…” Shi Ta mumbled quietly.
“You wouldn’t intentionally lead us astray, would you?” Brendel looked at him.
“Enough, I get it!” The little chubby dragon almost became neurotic from Brendel and couldn’t help but shout in frustration.
Brendel turned back to Veronika, indicating that was the answer to the question. The lady looked at him with mild reproach; in her view, offending a dragon for such a minor issue was somewhat not worth the trouble.
Though this dragon was still quite young and acted somewhat oddly.
“We must stop Anlek.” She replied, her words making both Shi Do and Laurena behind her nod in agreement.
But Brendel recalled a question. He raised his head and looked at Shi Do, “Miss Scholar, what prompted you to activate those liquid monsters with the magical moonstone?”
Shi Do was startled by Brendel’s gaze; her delicate brows trembled slightly like a moth’s wings, but she quickly calmed down, “I… I just wanted to try activating them.”
“Earl of Toniger,” at this moment, the Crown Prince who had been silent spoke up. Rainwright glanced at Brendel and reminded him faintly, “Miss Shi Do is a descendant of the Thún family. Should I remind you how we Crusains defend our honor?”
Brendel turned around, “Once it was with iron and blood, now it is with arrogance and prejudice?”
“Alright, stop arguing,” Shi Do gently interrupted them, “Lord Earl?”
Brendel shook his head, “I’m not doubting you, Miss Shi Do. My question is, how did you suddenly think of using a magical moonstone to activate them?”
Shi Do’s eyes lit up slightly, a spark of memory flashing by. She raised her head, “Right, it was because I discovered something.”
“Something?”
“Something… very strange. You would definitely want to see it,” Shi Do paused, “Sorry, I was too nervous earlier and forgot to mention it.”
“It’s alright.” As expected, Brendel turned back, frowning as his gaze followed the light of the torch along the ice wall extending into the darkness.
He seemed to have found the answer he was looking for.
……
At the other end of the ice cave—
The young lord’s gaze swept over the half-submerged skeletons in the darkness. The skeleton before him was a little over five feet tall; none of the others exceeded six feet—clearly, this was not the remains of frost giants.
He lowered the torch slightly, the flickering light rippling across the ice surface like water, revealing the full shape of the skeleton. The first skeleton was clothed in a robe, the robe seemingly frozen to the ground like paper. Brendel crouched beside it and tore off a piece with his hand; the fabric felt strange, unlike cotton.
“This is linen from Lunsha,” Shi Do’s voice interjected, as she had evidently already examined these remains, “The slanting pattern is their most notable characteristic—”
“You’re quite familiar with it?” Brendel asked without looking back.
“No, Lord Earl, the development of textiles and materials is not my area of expertise. It’s just…”
“Just that it is well-known.” Brendel confidently completed her sentence.
Shi Do looked at the Earl in surprise.
“Were these dead humans?” Veronika suddenly asked.
“But why would humans appear here?” Laurena asked doubtfully.
“Perhaps they were explorers,” Phillas confidently offered his opinion, “These people are quite famous for their quests. The mystery of the ancient ruins draws them like moths to a flame. I’ve read quite a few stories like that.”
“This isn’t a story.” Laurena flatly shattered his illusions.
“But…”
“Miss Laurena is correct. It is wealth that attracts explorers; it is greed, not dreams, that causes these people to step forward,” Medisa replied with her usual calm smile, “In our era, many explorers were essentially grave robbers, and their reputation was not good.”
“Same now,” Laurena shot her fiancé a sidelong glance.
Phillas grimaced and shrugged helplessly.
“These people aren’t explorers, are they?” Veronika stepped away from the young people’s debate and moved closer to Brendel, whispering.
“A uniform style of armor says it all, doesn’t it?” Brendel turned, amusement flickering across his features as he glanced at Veronika, who was clearly asking for confirmation, “I don’t believe you, Lord, would fail to see that?”
“They are soldiers, but who are they from that side? Erluin people or Highland Knights?”
“Neither.”
“Neither?”
“Do you see this?” Brendel held up the piece of fabric in his hand and shook it.
“Is it linen?” Veronika frowned, as if in thought. However, a piece of linen seemed too unremarkable to provoke any associations, only trapping her in a maze of thought.
Fortunately, Brendel did not intend to waste more time. He teased a bit then answered, “Lunsha grows only in the Silver Bay’s northern region. The fabric made from it is no longer mainstream today, but it is indeed a very famous plant.”
He placed the fabric on the pages held by Shi Do’s hands, “Miss Shi Do, you can answer.”
“I… Lunsha is famous because the Minren once cultivated it widely; the fabric made from it was once the primary material of clothing for the Minren Dynasty.” Shi Do blinked for a moment but quickly replied.
“The Minren?” Veronika raised her head, somewhat incredulous, “Brendel, are you saying these people were Minren?”
“Minren are humans; modern humanity descends from them. Whether they are Crusian, Erluin, or Highlanders, in terms of appearance and height, they have little different from the Minren—if they have all turned to skeletons, that is,” Brendel answered.
“You mean the Minren once came here? Did they really cross the glacier?”
“Who knows…”
Suddenly, Brendel recalled a dream he had earlier. The great rift repeatedly appeared in his mind, as vivid as if it was within reach, with the Minren in black linen robes dancing some strange dance at the edge of the rift, and then a group of priests carrying a golden box approached.
They were chanting something aloud, but the voices could not penetrate the dream, becoming indistinct. Finally, those people gave a loud shout and threw that box into the rift.
Brendel shook his head, driving that illusion from his mind.
He instinctively felt that these Minren who died here might have some mysterious connection to everything he had seen in his dream. But he was unwilling to think too deeply about it; after a moment of silence, he turned back and asked, “Shi Do, did you find anything else on these people?”
“I found that their armor and weapons have lost their magical power, and there’s this…” The scholar lady walked over and took a small pouch from each corpse, which should be their money bags, and Shi Do opened each one, pouring out the contents.
They were many small dull diamonds, looking more like glass products.
“The Minren used magical crystals as currency, but the magic in these crystals has long since dissipated,” Brendel glanced at these diamonds and understood Shi Do’s implication, “No, this magic must have been absorbed, so you suspect—”
He raised his head, glancing at the silver liquid that lay in pools on the east and west sides of the ice cave.
Shi Do nodded.
……(To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation or monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
