Chapter 768: Act 121 – Eternal XXII
Less than a minute before Laurena’s voice spoke up, the hunter girl seemed to lose her spirit and charged forward. Her frail body stumbled through the biting cold wind, as if she would fall off the cliff like a kite with a broken string at any moment.
If it weren’t for Medisa having received Brendel’s orders to follow the young girl closely, such a thing might have truly happened.
But Peiya had already completely disregarded everything else. She finally spotted her brother’s figure beneath the ice wall ahead, exactly as she had seen in her dreams. She saw her brother lying amidst the shattered ice as if he were asleep.
The hunter girl let out a near-bestial growl from deep within her throat, the feelings she had suppressed for days finally erupted at this moment. She charged forward madly, dismissing the steep icy surface and the difficult terrain as if they were nothing. Her hand quickly cut on a sharp ice spike, vivid red blood trailed along the millennia-old icy cliff as she clawed her way up, akin to a mother leopard.
Medisa was surprised to find herself unable to keep up with her. Not to mention warning her to be careful; all she could see was Peiya madly rushing towards where her brother lay, her black hair flying in the wind like a blooming black rose.
It was at that moment that the Silver Elf Princess suddenly felt the ice beneath her feet start to tremble slightly—
She instinctively looked up, and a noticeable crack spread from above her head, heading straight for Peiya.
“Be careful, Peiya!”
Laurena’s shout finally echoed, just as a loud crash rang out. The ice above Peiya’s head collapsed as if it were caving in, and almost everyone saw a flash of white shadow before the hunter girl fell into the hands of another.
It was a knight.
Sibers Ansu grasped his longsword tightly with his left hand, the cold blade resting on Peiya’s neck—while the hunter girl seemed to be frozen in place, as if under a spell, unable to move, not even able to turn her eyes.
“Who are you?”
Brendel did not see Sibers speak, yet his booming voice echoed through the hearts of everyone present like rolling thunder. Whether it was the Gray Saint, Veronika, or the two dragons, everyone felt as if they were facing a true giant, compelling them to look up.
“…And who are you?” Among everyone, only Alorze could manage to respond with difficulty.
But the young dragon frowned, looking extremely distressed. Since Brendel had known her, he had never seen her look so serious.
“Who am I?”
The knight standing next to Peiya repeated the question, his tone seemingly uncertain, but his voice still swept over everyone’s hearts mercilessly, like sharp spikes that left them pale.
Sibers frowned. Minren and humans did not appear very different from the outside, but as a former golden race, his golden eyes were their most prominent feature, reminiscent of a dragon. Additionally, pure-blooded Minren usually had hair as dark as the deepest night. It was just at a moment of slight confusion that someone recognized his identity.
“Minren!” Shi Do exclaimed.
“No, it’s a specter…” Laurena’s judgment came just a moment after the scholar lady’s, but she noticed Sibers’ translucent figure shrouded in a glow.
Sibers had long hair that fell over his shoulders; he appeared to be no older than fifty or so. His high nose and flat cheekbones resembled the legendary Minren, while his thin lips presented an intimidating presence without the need for anger. He wore silver-gray armor, enveloped in a thick gray fur cloak, with a cape that almost dragged on the ground. This attire made him seem like a typical lord from a remote region.
A rustic who had fought against monsters for years.
But at this moment, no one could smile, as all eyes fell on Sibers’ sword. The longsword in his left hand was a single-handed sword that was nearly twice the length and width of a normal longsword. The blade had a hook near the guard, and the guard featured a rarely seen cross shape from this era. The blade had a slightly gray hue, but its surface was alive with a flowing frost-like color.
The sword in his right hand was shorter but still the length of swords in this era; it was just thinner, resembling an elf’s slender sword. This sword was forged from red metal, blood-red in color, and Brendel recognized its origin with just one glance.
The cursed sword, Soulbinder Fingus.
In the world of Vaunte, only a few could be called sacred swords, and even fewer could be regarded as magic swords. The cursed sword that Brendel had just acquired simply didn’t reach this level.
But Soulbinder Fingus was undoubtedly among them.
This sword was created by the most famous master blacksmith under Odin, Ggul, who was also one of the seven leaders of the Earth Wings Legion, as well as one of the most challenging foes faced by Queen Saint Ausoor and Erlandta in their lifetimes.
Legend had it that Ggul was the last person of half-god bloodline after the First Epoch began, a true demigod. He had a son who died in battle, and he recovered his son’s heart from the battlefield to forge this magic sword.
The soul bound was that of his own son, the descendant of a demigod.
There were countless legends about this sword, and even if Brendel spoke for days and nights, he might not finish them. But for him, there was one simple property of this sword that overshadowed a thousand words.
This sword had appeared in “Amber Sword” before; the first to acquire it was the guild that cleared the Frost Forest dungeon the fastest back in the day. Once a player acquired it, the attributes of the weapon would become known to everyone.
Its attributes were considered exceptional in every aspect, barely shy of being a divine artifact, but its sole cursed property was what truly made it a magic sword:
Soulbinding: When the player holding the magic sword, Soulbinder Fingus, dies, the sword is guaranteed to be destroyed, and the player’s character level and experience revert to the initial state. When the player holding the magic sword strikes another player, that player loses experience equal to the damage dealt. Additionally, when the player holding the magic sword kills another player, the killed character loses double their level and experience, with half of that absorbed by the holder.
This sword had once been referred to by players as the sword that transcended the system.
How could Brendel not be aware? The guild leader at the time used this sword to help his guild members farm experience, occupying the top of the “Amber Sword” leaderboard for three whole months. Unfortunately, such a good time didn’t last, as that person soon vanished along with the sword from the history of Vaunte. He didn’t need to think to know what happened to the other party, but regardless, the terrifying reputation of this sword had been passed down in “Amber Sword” for a long time, continuing even through several versions later, where players still referred to it as the first magic sword.
Brendel’s face turned pale when he saw the sword; getting struck by it meant losing levels, making it the embodiment of getting weaker while the opponent grew stronger when facing someone wielding the magic sword Soulbinder Fingus.
“Brendel, be careful of that guy’s sword; that’s Soulbinder Fingus. It will drain your strength when it strikes, reinforcing the wielder’s power.” Although Saint Ausoor was eagerly watching the show, she still reminded him at that moment.
“I know,” Brendel replied. He already understood the terror of Fingus, but he was more concerned about the other sword in Sibers’ hand. A swordsman of Sibers’ caliber would definitely not wield an ordinary sword. Although he didn’t recognize that blade resembling an ice crystal sword, he knew that it couldn’t be any inferior to Soulbinder Fingus.
“I see…” Saint Ausoor paused slightly in surprise, “Soulbinder Fingus is the most notorious weapon of our era. To prevent others from coveting it and causing unnecessary trouble, we sealed away related information after the victory of the great war—”
Brendel momentarily lost words and hurriedly altered his response: “I meant I have heard about it. Why don’t you tell me about his other sword?”
“I don’t know much about that sword either, but Gilt seems to recognize it. He said it was the Frost Chanting Sword Xina. To be honest, I have never seen Sibers unleash the power of that sword on the battlefield.” Saint Ausoor replied.
“I got it…” Brendel groaned inwardly.
He already knew the origin of that other sword, the Frost Chanting Sword Xina, rumored to be the ultimate weapon of the Frost Guardians. It wasn’t a divine artifact but surpassed one in its capabilities. He fully understood why Sibers rarely used the power of that sword in battle, as the Frost Chanting Sword Xina was reputedly a divine artifact for military use. Its only flaw was that it could harm both friend and foe, and it was once referred to by players as the AOE sword.
This sword had only appeared on the official website of Torrential Rain. The Frost Guardian was fundamentally a damage-over-time class that lacked AOE, and this sword perfectly compensated for that class’s only flaw. It was said that the original plan was to release this sword as the class artifact for the Frost Guardian, but in the end, it came to nothing.
Brendel had heard people say that it was too much of a bug, so the official put it into the game but eventually deleted it. Everything about this sword was, in truth, a mystery.
But that mystery was now right in front of Brendel.
Soulbinder Fingus and the Frost Chanting Sword Xina, either sword would make any Frost Knight among the top figures among players at that time. However, to possess both like Sibers, Brendel could figure out how terrifying that must be just by imagining it with his toes.
No wonder Sibers, alone, could intimidate an entire legion of the Cruz Empire into not daring to budge. Brendel now thought that the Cruz people didn’t seem foolish at all.
The Frost Chanting Sword Xina was simply a nuclear level existence for clearing mobs.
But now the problem was that this terrifying figure, wielding a pair of divine artifacts, was standing before all of them. And judging by the current situation, it seemed that he was not on friendly terms with them.
In fact, the moment Sibers appeared, Brendel had already understood the other party’s identity.
A hidden class boss in a dungeon that was not mandatory to defeat—
“The Frost Knight…”
Veronika’s voice finally came through, as she looked at the sword in Sibers’ hand, seemingly stunned for a moment before realizing its identity: “By Martha, this class has not appeared in people’s sights for nearly three hundred years…”
“Who on earth is this guy?”
…(To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation, monthly votes; your support is my greatest motivation.)
