Chapter 767: Act 120 – Eternal XXI
“Brendel, did you notice?”
The slender figure of the huntress girl waded through the steep cliffs ahead, swaying dangerously. She had spoken of her dream where she saw her younger brother crossing a knife-like steep ice wall, with a piercing cold wind, surrounded by an environment resembling a maze hall formed by thousands of icy pillars.
As they traversed the ice cave passage strewn with ancient corpses, the sight before them was just as described:
The underground glacier appeared to have been abruptly sliced, revealing a sheer face that extended from the depths to nearly a thousand feet above ground, forming a cliff-like abyss; standing at the edge of the ice layer break, one could look up to the gray, howling sky, and down into the bottomless chasm, where the north wind whipped chaotic magic through, shrieking past from hundreds of feet away, a white haze that resembled countless phantoms.
It was as if the winter steeds of the North Wind Goddess Jupiter were running, or a stream of ice-blue water, flowing as if in a river, ceaselessly surging.
This scene was just as Peiya described before; when everyone arrived here, they couldn’t help but be taken aback.
Seeking answers through dreams sounded absurd; although the witches firmly believed that dreams foretold reality, most considered it nonsensical. Even Veronika, who supported Brendel, couldn’t dismiss the thought that the young lord’s idea was a bit presumptuous, while Laurena and Shi Do remained somewhat skeptical.
The Empire’s Crown Prince remained noncommittal, his indifferent demeanor seemingly his trademark.
The only ones supporting Brendel were perhaps those early followers like Xi and Medisa, who unwaveringly believed in his decisions, along with the witches and Phillas.
As for the latter, it was needless to ask, for our Knight Mr. was willing to believe anyone he found pleasing, no matter how ridiculous the reason.
However, Brendel himself harbored a lingering premonition; in fact, he had felt this way throughout the day—something was guiding them.
He recalled his peculiar dream and those untraceable eyes behind him.
“Are you referring to the voice on the ice layer?”
Suddenly, the familiar voice echoed in his mind, and Brendel slightly paused, quickly realizing: “Lady Ausoor, you’re awake?”
The voice from the ice layer had been following them since they passed through the long cracks beneath the ice; the low, rustling sounds were hardly perceptible from hundreds of feet away. If it weren’t for the dark magic flowing, Brendel would occasionally think it was just an illusion.
But it was evident he wasn’t the only one who noticed this; Alorze and the Gray Saint had both heightened their vigilance.
Apart from the glacial worms, the only other entities that could move beneath the ice were the indescribable things. However, Brendel was acutely aware that glacial worms rarely traversed between fractures.
“Not just that, a part of your blood within is becoming restless; haven’t you noticed, young one?” Lady Ausoor’s voice had a somewhat languid tone but quickly turned serious as she spoke in her uniquely ‘serious yet mocking tone’: “Your mental state is not good at all; under such circumstances, how do you expect me to sleep?”
“Poor mental state? What do you mean?”
Brendel was somewhat confused; since entering the Black Forest, the elven elder had seldom conversed with him, only occasionally discussing the Age of Saints’ War, and more often urging him to study swordsmanship and the lost knowledge of the mist elves. Her sudden awakening today must mean she had sensed something significant.
“Confusion; you have been influenced by that dream, and something here is calling to you. It seeks to affect your mind,” Lady Ausoor answered seriously.
Brendel felt a prick in his mind, recalling the golden box. He calmed himself before asking, “Lady Ausoor, did you notice something?”
“I believe it is that thing; whether to say you are lucky or unlucky, I don’t know,” the elven elder sighed.
Brendel was taken aback.
“Years ago, we drove a group of Minren southward, chasing them from the plains north of Erluin into what was then still covered by the Black Forest in the Southlands. After the dark dragon was sealed, they stole one of the seals from Yasur, aiming to enter the Loop of Trade Winds to gather another seal. We, along with the Silver Elves, pursued them here, believing they had escaped into Madara from Buche, forming the Minren descendants we see today. Unexpectedly, they split into two; one group crossed the Frosted Grove and headed east to the sea—”
“Wait,” Brendel interjected, feeling a chill run down his spine. He suddenly interrupted the elven sage: “You said they stole one of the seals from Yasur, aiming to gather the other seal in the Loop of Trade Winds. You’re not referring to the Gray Gem, are you?”
“What else could it be?” Lady Ausoor’s voice slightly turned annoyed, indicating that the pursuit hadn’t gone smoothly.
In that instant, Brendel understood something. The image of the golden box, left behind by the Minren at the rift, flickered in his mind, and he raised his head to glance at the mirror-smooth cliff face, his expression becoming peculiar.
“Got it?”
“I got it, but I don’t understand why they didn’t take that seal on the ship and left it here,” Brendel questioned internally.
He felt a faint sense of anticipation rising; if the dark dragon’s first seal had brought him boundless benefits, the frenzied power bestowed by the fool’s talent was almost one of his greatest trump cards, not to mention the witches’ loyalty.
Although Lady Ausoor’s words seemed to carry a sense of discontent, Brendel could empathize with her feelings; regardless of her verbal responses, this elven sage likely worried that the dark dragon would rise once more.
Brendel was not without such concerns, but he viewed this power more like a data set in a game; the written black and white on his character sheet left little room for feeling threatened. Thus far, concerning anything involving the game aspects of this world, nothing had ever occurred beyond his expectations, providing him a reason to believe that this bizarre character panel would not betray him on this matter.
Unless that eerie ‘system’ itself was a trick of the dark dragon.
But that was unlikely, as Odin was merely a traveling mage. Deep down, Brendel had a premonition; this ‘system’ he possessed had permissions far exceeding those of a traveling mage, for the ‘system’ could perfectly accommodate the mage. As a modern individual, he had never heard of any lower-level system fully encompassing a higher-level system; it just didn’t add up.
Lady Ausoor ‘looked’ at him in his world of thought, and Brendel could practically see the elven elder with her arms crossed—she obviously had discerned what he was thinking. However, as always, this sage didn’t reproach Brendel for his lack of regard; she displayed a proud expression and replied, “Who knows? Perhaps they couldn’t take it. You must know that behind them stood our Forest Travelers and the Silver Elves’ Dragon Knight cavalry. To carry the dark dragon’s seal and leave this land unnoticed is rather fanciful.”
Regarding the elven elder’s words, Brendel remained skeptical. If the mist elves and silver elves truly possessed such capability, the Minren would hardly have been able to cross the Lion’s Gate at the Erluin and Cruz border—of course, that was before the existence of the Kingdom of Erluin. However, the Lion’s Gate had already been established since the First Battle.
Nevertheless, he wisely chose not to dwell on this issue, as offending an elven lady was quite impolite; angering a formidable, older lady was simply unwise. He deftly skipped the topic and asked, “Lady Sage, are you saying that the Gray Gem is not far from us and that we can find a way to retrieve it?”
“You really want to get it back?” Lady Ausoor glanced at him again.
“Of course, I need power now; you understand, Lady Ausoor. I will handle it carefully, so rest assured.” Brendel replied.
The elven elder suddenly chuckled: “What are you worried about, young one? I never said you couldn’t retrieve it. Instead of letting you absorb the seal, it’s better than it falling into the hands of those with ulterior motives. Besides, Odin endorsed you, didn’t he? Not many can earn that proud fellow’s approval, and I still don’t understand what attracted him to you.”
Lady Ausoor pondered for a moment, resting her chin on her hand, nodding: “It seems I was right about you.”
“Then?” Brendel felt a surge of excitement, as if the feeling of being watched all day had now been swept away.
“Don’t rejoice too soon, young one,” Lady Ausoor chuckled gently: “You want to know the location of that thing? You actually don’t need to; it’s close to you and getting nearer.”
“Getting nearer?” Brendel was taken aback.
“The leader of that Minren is called Sibers Ansu; you might not have heard of his name, but in our time, he was someone quite famous. The Cruz people called him the Last Frostland Guardian, meaning there hasn’t been a more remarkable frost knight than him since—”
Lady Ausoor suddenly mentioned casually: “If he wasn’t murdered or usurped, the Gray Gem should be under his guardianship. Frost knights take oaths, and once they do, they will forever guard their promises, from birth to death—”
“You understand what I mean?”
Brendel stared dumbfounded at the elegant elven lady before him. The sage lady’s eyes, as deep as the starry sky, shimmered with mischievous glints, reminiscent of a young girl waiting to see some excitement.
What a ridiculous international joke; how could he not recognize Sibers Ansu, the leader of the Minren Black Crow Clan, the last Frost Knight Lord, who stood at the Winter Whisper Pass during the Last Stand, preventing the entire Cruz White Wolf Legion from advancing and subsequently becoming the subject of ridicule?
The mountain folk still recited tales of his lone figure at the pass, illustrated as a solitary wolf on red stone plates—his personal glory.
Such a figure, who only appeared in legends and epics, according to Lady Ausoor, seemed to be preparing to cause them trouble?
What a joke, this guy once had opponents like the Flame King Gilt, Queen Saint Ausoor, Archbishop Fanzan, and Crown of Mountains Erluin on his list.
What was Brendel worth?
But Brendel suddenly had a peculiar expression and turned his head. Just as Lady Ausoor finished speaking, a series of creaks rang out from above everyone’s heads. The Gray Saint Mephistopheles, Alorze, and Veronika simultaneously looked up, seeing a visible crack in the center of the ice layer above rapidly extending forward.
“Watch out, Peiya!”
Laurena suddenly shouted.
…(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your votes. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
