Chapter 766: Act 119 – Eternity XX
Brendel listened to Shi Do’s words, his right hand resting on the slightly smooth, cold hilt of Halangaya. He silently pulled the Earth Sword, which he had previously returned to its resilient sheath, back out. The dark blade emerged from its sheath, faintly emanating a heavy aura akin to mountains and rivers.
He raised his head, taking in the entire underground world beneath the glacier. Around him, Veronika, Mephistopheles, and the Young Female Dragon made the same gesture.
The icy cave was shrouded in mist, leaving only the sound of weapons drawing from their sheaths.
These Minren had evidently arrived here after the era of dusk; the ancient people had all perished here. What had killed them—needless to say, was obvious.
The equipment and crystals drained of magical power scattered across the Minren corpses also proved this point.
“Shi Do, before you resurrect that thing, are you sure it was in a dormant state?” Brendel did not turn but asked flatly; his calm voice was neither loud nor high-pitched, merging with the ice layer and dissipating without a trace.
Shi Do nodded behind him.
The Crown Prince Rainwright drew his longsword with his right hand—the golden eagle emblem on the sword’s hilt reflected the light of the torches, gleaming brilliantly. His slightly darkened face showed little emotion, his brows furrowed as if explaining a matter of course: “So, it means there might still be other monsters like it beneath this glacier—”
Brendel turned back: “Shi Ta?”
“Don’t look at me, I’ve never encountered these things before…” Shi Ta, with his chubby face, frowned tightly: “I’ve only passed this path once, when I transformed into my dragon form and traversed beneath the ice layer, simply out of curiosity. I did see these corpses; they were nearly everywhere beneath the glacier, but I didn’t encounter that kind of creature last time—”
“Lord Earl, I think there’s a problem here.” Shi Do suddenly interjected. She had been pondering something with her head down and now lifted it to look at Brendel and Veronika.
Brendel also looked at her. “Speak,” he replied. He shared the same doubt in his mind: Regardless of the reason, the Minren must have fought fiercely here with those monsters, but the final outcome was such—what they saw was not necessarily the whole truth.
There was also a key question. He looked at this girl from the Saint Ebonson Academy, representing the highest academic standards of the Cruz Empire, wanting to draw that answer from her lips. Although this scholarly lady seemed somewhat oblivious to worldly affairs, her earlier performance was impressive in her field of expertise; her wisdom needed no further praise from others.
“I disagree with His Highness; if there are indeed other monsters like that down here, then I’m puzzled as to why they wouldn’t resurrect their kind but had to wait for Anlek to do it? I checked those corpses in advance; nearly all the magical items on the Minren’s bodies had their magical power drained clean, yet many of the Frost Giants’ armor and weapons still retained their magic. If they were still alive, why not use the magical power from these magical items to revive their kin?”
Shi Do faced everyone’s gaze, unhurried, with her sea-blue eyes sparkling with the fire of reason, carefully presenting her analysis.
Brendel pressed his lips together; this was precisely the doubt he held in his heart—
However, he did not simply interject; this was merely one theory among many. Unraveling it was akin to solving a quest, requiring careful, methodical deductions. He remembered how to solve a series of plot tasks; in “Amber Sword,” there were no task prompts; all clues required players to deduce and hone through repeated attempts.
He was well-versed in this process.
He glanced at the Cruzian Crown Prince, needing someone to help him disprove this, but the young man from the Aurelian House wore an expressionless face, neither scolding nor agreeing, as if Shi Do were not opposing him at all.
This future Emperor of Cruz was indeed not an ordinary person, Brendel privately assessed, but at least someone had spoken up.
It was Laurena who raised the question: “They might not be able to absorb the magic from the Frost Giants’ weapons and armor, right? I mean, these are remnants from the era of twilight; the Frost Giants are their natural enemies. Perhaps there’s a way to restrain them?”
“Impossible, Sister Laurena,” Shi Do shook her head. She suddenly smiled slightly, looking at Brendel: “Lord Earl noticed this too, right? I saw you shake your head earlier; can you help me explain it to them? After all, Shi Do alone doesn’t hold much persuasive power.”
Brendel noticed the scholar lady wink at him, along with that friendly, playful smile, and understood her intent: the scholar wanted to leverage his reputation in Veronika’s eyes to explain this matter. However, Brendel wasn’t upset; he looked at everyone and asked, “Have any of you noticed the weapons stuck in the mercury?”
“What’s so intriguing about those broken weapons?” Phillas blinked.
But not everyone’s thought process was linear. Especially Laurena, who turned to look at the Frost Giants’ and Minren’s weapons, and her expression changed.
All the weapons stuck in the mercury had completely lost their magical power.
“Lord Earl observes with remarkable detail. In fact, I conducted an experiment, and the results indicated that the mercury can react to the Frost Giants’ magical equipment as well; it’s just that the residual magic in these ancient magical items is minimal. A piece or two might not suffice to revive them—” Shi Do exhaled, continuing, “Unfortunately, I was too reckless later and shouldn’t have used the complete magical moonstone for the next test; otherwise, we wouldn’t have encountered those troubles.”
“If we hadn’t faced those troubles, I doubt we would have heightened our vigilance,” Brendel replied. “Let’s set this matter aside; has anyone here got any thoughts?”
Veronika had been listening until this point. She, as a Cruz soldier, seemed to possess an innate steadiness, much like the Crown Prince. The lady tapped her silver sword hilt before speaking: “If one or two pieces of magical equipment are insufficient to revive them, it implies that more might be needed. If there are truly more similar beings beneath this glacier, then we wouldn’t see any magical equipment left with residual power today, is that your point, Shi Do?”
Shi Do nodded.
She continued: “In fact, I believe we have entered a misunderstanding. Lady Veronika, Lord Earl, we see these Minren corpses and assume that the monsters that killed them must still be alive. But upon closer thought, this assumption does not necessarily hold; they could very well have also been slain here. The corpses could be remnants of warriors who perished alongside these monsters in this icy cave.”
“Wait a moment, I understand what you mean. You’re saying that these Minren were the ultimate victors back then, and what we see now are merely the skeletons of warriors who perished together with these monsters, and that those monsters also lie dead here—how could that be possible?” Laurena retorted, frowning.
“It’s possible, Sister Laurena. We always jump to the conclusion that these silver monsters are terrifying, imposing an impression of invincibility in our minds. But that’s not necessarily the case—didn’t His Highness slay one of them? The Minren are descendants of the Golden People; why couldn’t they defeat them?” Shi Do turned her gaze back, looking at the Lady Knight and explaining logically.
Laurena opened her mouth, momentarily speechless: “But…” She paused, feeling that something was off, but after a long thought, she finally scraped up a reason: “But I don’t understand; if there are still Minren alive, why wouldn’t they handle their comrades’ corpses and leave them to rot?”
Brendel shook his head: “That’s quite normal because they are Minren, not Cruz or Erluin people. The Minren revere brave warriors, and leaving their comrades’ bodies on the battlefield is a mark of respect to them.”
“So, what was left behind back then were truly the Minren? Did they stay here? Will we encounter them?”
Brendel also shook his head while suddenly recalling the vision of that dream. The images of the Minren wandering in the sparkling glaciers lingered in his mind, unable to be dispelled. He closed his eyes, as if taking a moment to rest, and then spoke: “No, although the Minren claim to be the descendants of the Golden People, they are not the ancient Minren; they do not possess life spans as enduring as dragons.”
“That’s good to hear,” Phillas, upon hearing this, finally sighed in relief and shouted, “Whether it’s the Minren or these monsters, since they are all dead, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”
Brendel cast a glance at the boisterous fellow, thinking that being reckless and ignorant sometimes brought a certain happiness; at least he wouldn’t feel tension or fear. But was it really that simple? Perhaps not. Shi Do’s reasoning, seemingly sound, but he had never forgotten the nature of this place.
This was a dungeon—
“Phillas, what we discussed is merely speculation. No one knows what dangers lie beneath the ice; if you relax your vigilance because of that, you would be gravely mistaken,” Shi Do sighed, clearly having known this lucky knight for more than just a day.
“Little Shi Do, you’re trying to scare me again, aren’t you?” Phillas laughed.
“Perhaps not,” Brendel’s hand had never left his sword; he raised his head to observe the pitch-black shadows lurking between the interwoven glaciers: “Have you all considered one question? Why did the Minren come here?”
“Wasn’t it to flee? The former king Gilt…” Shi Do replied softly, but her voice trailed off as she noticed Brendel gently shaking his head.
Brendel didn’t respond this time; instead, scenes of Minren throwing that golden box into the chasm revived repetitively in his mind—over and over again, like scenes from an old film—
The frenzied Minren shamans.
The sacrificers.
The golden cabinet.
The chasm.
The unfathomable abyss—
He pressed his lips together, an inexplicable aura spreading from his silhouette; everyone around seemed reluctant to speak further, only Veronika quietly asked, “Brendel, should we proceed in that direction next?”
“Go summon Peiya and ask where her brother is,” Brendel replied without turning his head.
……(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to support it on Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendations and monthly votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)
