Chapter 805: Act 155 – Revival I
“I have my ways.” Brendel replied, naturally unwilling to casually disclose the secret of the Vanishing Pointer. The petrified fog, which was the only threat from this giant worm, had been sealed off, and with it lacking the strength to contend with him, and with plenty of time left on its Frenzied Talent, a stalemate of fifteen minutes would be no problem at all. He was slightly relieved that the battlefield was not on solid ground; Frostbite’s Jaw shook the earth, and rolling those skills beneath the ice would be impossible. Otherwise, he would be struggling and awaiting death.
Noticing Anlek was still somewhat uneasy, he added, “Don’t worry, if I wanted to kill you, I would have done it long ago. The crimes you committed against Ampere Seale are enough for you to die a thousand times. However, since I didn’t kill you earlier, I won’t deal with you now until I figure out how to obtain your Serpent Ring.” This was an open secret between the two of them, and Brendel bluntly stated it. Anlek smiled coldly but did not respond. However, Brendel understood that the guy was clearly reluctant and was looking for a way to escape.
With these words, Anlek finally settled down quite a bit. At least Brendel did not have to worry about him suddenly harboring any suicidal thoughts.
The following time was a tedious stalemate. Anlek repeatedly thickened the ice layer, and the Ice Wall spell was about to create a massive ice lump in Frostbite’s Jaw. Thankfully, this creature didn’t need to breathe. Otherwise, it would likely have been the first boss to die from asphyxiation. Nevertheless, Brendel’s presence was still making it uncomfortable; after some time, it finally settled down, exhausting its strength as it lay still. Yet Brendel could still feel the temperature from this creature, knowing it had not died.
As to whether it was playing dead or truly exhausted, he could not tell, but at least it was a good sign, indicating that it had temporarily settled down. As long as they had a few more minutes, they could escape according to the original plan.
Brendel had no idea how far Kehua and the others had dug, but fifteen minutes was enough time to excavate several hundred meters. The Frostbite Worm had little intelligence; as long as it didn’t make noise, it was unlikely to catch up. Brendel could only be grateful that this thing tracked by sound rather than smell. Otherwise, with his scent of blood, it would probably be able to track him even if he ran ten miles.
But just as he began to relax a little, he suddenly felt the giant worm he was restraining tremble and then slightly lift its head.
“What’s it doing?” Brendel was stunned.
He felt Frostbite’s Jaw was retracting; was it trying to escape? But instinct told him it didn’t seem likely. While he was pondering this, unexpectedly, after a brief retreat, Frostbite’s Jaw suddenly lunged forward. Anlek, who was in front of it, didn’t even have time to react and was flung aside. If he hadn’t reacted quickly, he might have been crushed into a meat patty by the beast. Anlek was not crushed, but Brendel, who got caught in the creature’s mouthparts, was in trouble. At this moment, Brendel finally understood what the creature was up to.
It had gone mad!
Whether it was a toothpick stuck in its mouth causing unbearable pain or an ice block lodged in its throat making it uncomfortable, after a brief moment of quiet, this boss had completely lost its mind. It slammed forward into the ice wall, crashing through it and creating massive holes, hurtling through the underground glacier like a runaway train. For the Frostbite Worm, this was merely instinctual action, but for Brendel, it was sheer agony as the monster rammed him into one ice wall after another. Even with Brendel’s constitution, he was close to vomiting blood from the impact at this point.
Brendel’s vision blurred, and he thought to himself that the script wasn’t supposed to go this way. He meant to activate the Vanishing Pointer but found himself at a loss for how to do so. Firstly, he dared not move his hands; otherwise, if the giant worm bit down, he would meet with Lady Martha. But if he didn’t move, he had no idea where he would end up.
He only felt himself traversing through the dark underground, but he didn’t know how far they had gone. His back was numb from all the impact, and suddenly, it felt empty behind him. The only sound left in his ears was the rushing wind. Instinctively, Brendel sensed that they must have already broken free from the glacier underground. He turned around to have a look, and upon glancing back, he nearly lost his mind.
The creature had crashed him straight out of a cliff, and outside was a bottomless abyss. This chasm appeared even more ridiculous than the one beneath the Spiral Hall, the void below was pitch black and seemed endless, almost like it led directly to the River of Sulfur.
“Stop!” Brendel shouted in panic, finally disregarding everything else as he hurriedly released his sword and reached for the Vanishing Pointer hanging on his chest.
In that brief moment, Frostbite’s Jaw let out a wail, its massive body half-crashing out of the cliff like a derailed train, dragging Brendel down into the abyss. It wasn’t until this moment that Brendel finally grasped the dial. “Activate!” he shouted inwardly. With a crisp click, Brendel felt as if a flowing ripple radiated from him in all directions, and in that instant, the entire world around him slowed down.
He saw himself and Frostbite’s Jaw still falling, but the speed of the descent became negligible. The giant worm seemed to hang in the air, and the massive hole that it had drilled out of the cliff was merely within arm’s reach.
“I’m saved!”
Brendel shouted within his heart, quickly drawing the Sword of the Earth and crawling out from beneath Frostbite’s Jaw’s terrifying mouthparts. He then began to scale the long body of the creature, trying to return to the cliff above.
But just at that moment, he suddenly felt something was off.
As if compelled by some unseen force, he turned back—
…
Time rewound half an hour to the other end of the pitch-black underground world, where a mountain girl blinked awake. She stayed in the dark for a moment before recalling what had happened before she fainted, struggling to sit up. The surroundings were pitch black, and though the girl usually appeared calm and strong in front of Brendel, at this moment, she was anxiously groping around on the ground. After a lot of effort, she finally grasped a long object wrapped in cloth. She quickly unwrapped the outer layer and felt the contents in the darkness—it was a long spear—but Xi appeared to have found a rare treasure, exhaling a long sigh of relief.
She held the spear for a while, seeming somewhat unaccustomed to the current situation. But as her vision gradually adapted to the darkness, she began to discern her surroundings with the faint glow seeping down from the glacier. Her sight revealed a long bottom of an underground ice crevice, the widest part capable of accommodating seven to eight people side by side. From afar, it resembled a canyon, which gradually extended into the darkness, ultimately vanishing from her view.
Xi waited for a while without seeing anyone else appear. Feeling a bit scared, she stood up cautiously and called softly, “Lord…”
“Lord…”
The echo reverberated along the ice walls, hauntingly resonating throughout the valley.
The mountain girl’s face turned pale as she tightly bit her lip, repeatedly recalling the events when the hall collapsed. She had watched as the prince and Medisa fell before her, disappearing into the depths below. Then, the whole hall fell apart; she seemed to have tumbled down along with the broken bridge, losing consciousness. Now, her chest felt as if pierced by a sharp object; it must be a few broken ribs. Thankfully, she was originally from a mercenary background, so this pain was not enough to make her cry, but she was unsure whether the lord had fared well.
Thinking about this, she began to tremble in fear, scanning her surroundings, hoping to find Brendel nearby, yet she was also afraid of seeing a cold corpse.
While searching with this conflicting mindset, Xi suddenly noticed that a pair of feet was buried beneath the ice not far away. This discovery nearly choked her. However, upon getting closer, she calmed down; it was a pair of military boots belonging to a Crusian, presumably the corpse of a noble from Cruz who had been nearby when the collapse occurred.
She gently inhaled, starting to move forward along the jumbled ice blocks and snow piles, soon discovering that the ground was littered with the bodies of Crusian nobles, some of whom had been completely crushed by the accumulated ice, their bodies and limbs contorted into grotesque poses. However, these sights did not stir any emotions in Xi. Sitting among the oddly shaped corpses, her expression grew increasingly relieved as she confirmed that none were familiar to her. She couldn’t help but let out a quiet sigh.
But then, her expression turned melancholic. Where could the lord be? Ever since Brendel took her in, she had never left his side. Yet this time, it felt as if she couldn’t spot that tall, broad back, making her feel lost.
Xi touched her chest, an empty feeling in her heart, but she couldn’t even understand what was happening to her.
Just as she wandered aimlessly along the crevice, a weak groan suddenly sounded from the shattered ice, startling her greatly. She stopped and listened carefully, finally confirming the voice was coming from beneath the ice. After hesitating for a moment, she remembered she was quite sensitive to sound. That voice certainly wasn’t the lord’s nor anyone familiar to her. However, after some consideration, the mountain girl decided to pry open the ice layer and discovered a young man in Crusian military attire buried beneath.
Xi glanced at the gold thread on his collar and recognized that he was a viscount. She naturally didn’t understand much about this knowledge, but having spent time around Antinna and Brendel, she gradually gained some insight. A young viscount like this was likely a descendant of some prominent family. Moreover, those who traveled alongside Veronika usually had some status and background in the Cruz Empire. The empire valued martial prowess, and large families liked to send their young nobles to the military for experience; even the royal family wasn’t an exception—these were stories that Brendel had once told her.
Thinking of Brendel, the girl’s expression warmed considerably.
The young man, who had turned purple from the cold, would have perished long ago if he were an ordinary person, but the noble officers accompanying Veronika were all at least of golden rank, so he soon began to recover, with a hint of color returning to his pale face. After sitting for a while to regain his strength, he opened his eyes, revealing sea-blue irises that were typical of Crusian people, a lineage as enviable as Faina’s in the empire.
However, this meant nothing to Xi. She glanced at him, gathering her thoughts, and asked, “Can you walk by yourself?” It seemed she had just remembered that she hadn’t spoken this long a sentence in quite some time, and her voice was a bit hoarse. She hadn’t been like this before when she was with the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group, but the incident with Makarolo had truly shaken her.
The young man nodded, gratefully replying, “Thank you for saving my life.” Stumbling, he struggled to stand up. Originally, he thought this beautiful lady might help him, but to his surprise, the mountain girl looked at him coldly, showing no courtesy.
Feeling somewhat awkward, he introduced himself, “My name is Ba Baum, and I am—”
Unfortunately, he hadn’t finished his sentence when Xi turned abruptly, interrupting him. He finally realized that she seemed unwilling to engage with him further and quickly called after her, “Wait a moment.”
Only then did Xi stop and turn to face him, though her eyes were filled with wariness, as if the words “If there’s nothing going on, I’m leaving” were written in her gaze.
Ba Baum gave a wry smile, shaking his head: “Surely, there are more survivors buried beneath the ice, would you, miss, consider doing me a favor and help get them out? Or at least help me retrieve the bodies of my colleagues; I cannot simply leave them here to rot.”
Xi shook her head directly.
Ba Baum swallowed hard, feeling that dealing with this lady was rather difficult. Nevertheless, for some reason, he found this mountain girl to be more genuine. He was a scion of a prominent family and had met many so-called high society debutantes, but facing Xi made his heart inexplicably skip beats. Scratching his head, he thought to himself that he wasn’t a young fool. What was going on with him today?
However, this hesitation was only momentary, then Ba Baum replied immediately, “Miss, you are also looking for companions, right? Excuse me for being presumptuous, but what if they are also like me, buried beneath the ice, and currently in need of your assistance?”
Xi was slightly startled when she heard Ba Baum’s words. She hesitated but eventually nodded.
She wasn’t worried about Brendel being trapped underneath; a thin layer of shattered ice couldn’t possibly trap the lord. However, she was concerned about Prince Younger, who Brendel had entrusted to her and Medisa for safekeeping. Now that the young prince had gone missing, the responsibility fell on her.
Thus, the two began searching along the ice crevice. In less than twenty minutes, they had gradually rescued seven or eight individuals, but there were far more corpses. The bodies of Crusian nobles lined up in a long row at the valley’s bottom. Initially, Ba Baum was keen to impress Xi, but as time went on, his expression gradually changed. It was worth noting that most of these individuals were nobles of standing who had perished here, and the stakes were too high to place the blame on Veronika since they were part of the empire’s military observation group—essentially there to supervise Veronika.
If the Blade Knight Order suffered heavy losses here, they would likely revel in a disaster. Ba Baum’s face turned pale as he glanced at the dejected leader, who now looked as if he had seen a ghost.
Among this pile of bodies, everyone was alright, but two of them were heirs of the Cecil family, which posed a significant problem. Everyone was aware of the intense rivalry between the Cecil and Aishreco families in the empire. These two had come to hold Veronika accountable for her actions in the Loop of Trade Winds. Originally, they had expected this journey to be enjoyable—after all, military observers typically stay out of harm’s way and generally do not encounter dangers. Who could have foreseen that Veronika would be so determined to enter the Temple of Dreamers?
Of course, they could have stayed outside, but these two were stubborn and had insisted on urging others to join in, hoping to uncover Veronika’s ulterior motives.
Naturally, they suspected Veronika of colluding with Duke Toniger—a tacitly understood secret within the observation group. Individuals like Ba Baum were reluctant to become embroiled in the conflicts between the Cecil and Aishreco families, yet they didn’t want to offend the heirs of the two families either. Under the leader’s implicit approval, everyone had followed in. The key detail was that Prince Rainwright had not opposed the action, which effectively meant consent.
But the current issue was that they were unaware of Veronika’s possible schemes, while two heirs from the Cecil family had died unexpectedly. If only one had died, it would be manageable, but now they had no way to justify the situation.
Having come to this understanding, everyone, including Ba Baum, felt a sense of dejection as they sat beside the pile of corpses, unable to find a way out. Unless something unexpected occurred, they would certainly face retaliation from the Cecil family. These powerful families wouldn’t adhere to reason. Ba Baum was fortunate; his family was influential enough to keep him out of the fray, but the others weren’t so lucky.
Yet there was one exception among them.
That was Xi.
The mountain girl didn’t comprehend the intricate intrigues among these nobles. Whether it was luck or misfortune, none of those rescued or dug out were familiar to her. The young prince, Medisa, and Miss Alorze seemed to have vanished, leaving her feeling both lost and fortunate. Lost, because she had no idea what to do; fortunate, because at least she hadn’t witnessed their cold, lifeless bodies.
As for those despondent Crusian nobles, they had nothing to do with her, and she didn’t even spare them a glance. She quietly walked away, clutching her Azure Spear. Instinctively, she kept her distance from those arrogant Crusian nobles, knowing that Brendel didn’t like them.
After all, the lord surely had his reasons.
The mountain girl’s thoughts were straightforward.
However, she did not know that her departure had attracted the attention of those Crusian nobles.
“Who is that girl?” someone among the despondent nobles suddenly inquired.
…
(PS: On the fifth day, continuing to ask for votes~)
