Chapter 813: Act 162 – Sublimation
“Lord Earl’s swordsmanship… it’s truly…” Shi Do couldn’t believe it: “I’ve never seen swordsmanship like this before…”
“Efficient and practical,” Rainwright sighed. He bore several wounds, but the Prince of Cruz showed no sign of being pretentious; instead, he resembled a qualified warrior. With a tense expression, he stated, “Though a bit too crude, lacking any noble demeanor.”
“This swordsmanship is solely for defeating opponents…” Shi Do murmured to herself.
“Swordsmanship is essentially a killing technique; the sword is a weapon for killing.” The Young Prince remained silent, but suddenly recalled something his sister had once told him, “Your teacher’s swordsmanship is not derived from the battlefield’s killing techniques, but instead focuses on concluding battles cleanly and efficiently. That’s why it flows seamlessly, without any hesitation. I’m curious, under what circumstances could such swordsmanship be developed?”
This is the player’s fighting style.
Not striving for a single decisive blow, but once an opportunity is seized, they would pursue relentlessly to unleash the maximum burst of power, even if it means sustaining minor injuries.
Veronika was also observing the battlefield. She had initially thought Brendel would struggle and had decided to rush in for support once the opponent couldn’t hold on. But to her surprise, Brendel not only wasn’t struggling but was instead gaining the upper hand. A hint of disbelief flashed in her azure eyes as she watched Brendel weave between varying heights of pipes, utilizing the terrain and those strange machines to his advantage, attacking in ways that defied understanding. The Radiant Winged beings fell victim to his strikes either from behind or collided with their own, or were simply kicked by Brendel into the walls, accompanied by arcs of electricity, plunging into the abyss below.
This wasn’t due to swordsmanship at all!
This was experience.
The female legion commander was filled with astonishment because she understood this wasn’t Erluin’s military swordsmanship and had no relation to the White Crow’s techniques, nor was it akin to the swordsmanship mentioned in the intelligence reports regarding Flash Blade. None of that; it was merely combat experience. For a moment, she became somewhat dazed, questioning how such a person could exist. Brendel was only twenty; she knew full well that the gathered intelligence confirmed he wasn’t lying. But a twenty-year-old youth, while possessing such strength, how could he have such terrifying battle experience? Sometimes she couldn’t even comprehend ‘how could he eliminate enemies like that,’ which only indicated one issue—her understanding hadn’t caught up with Brendel’s thought process.
This was utterly preposterous; it meant—this young man’s battle experience might even surpass hers.
Rationality told her this was true, but experience told her this was impossible.
Veronika was engulfed with conflicting feelings; she was also a Sword Saint, and rather a renowned one at that, the commander of the Legion of Azure in the Cruz Empire. She had fought against Hazell’s people, monsters, and heretics, reflecting on her life, spending half of her more than fifty years in countless battles. Her emotional pride made it hard for her to admit this. It wasn’t just a question of talent; Veronika couldn’t even begin to fathom why this situation existed.
She couldn’t help but raise her head, meeting Mephistopheles’s gaze from not far away, whose eyes also held a look of astonishment.
But while Mephistopheles was pleasantly surprised, she felt somewhat regretful.
“You’ve taken in a good student, Mephistopheles.”
Jelousy welled up in Veronika’s heart as she thought, had she known it would be like this, she would have brought Brendel into her camp first when she was at the Loop of Trade Winds. She regretted that it wasn’t worth considering any differences between Cruz and Erluin; as long as Brendel became her student, wouldn’t he still side with Cruz? After all, Erluin was too small and couldn’t possibly pose a threat to Cruz.
Why hadn’t she thought of this earlier?
At the same moment, Dark Kehua was also filled with anxiety.
Originally, she wanted to eliminate the weakest among Veronika, Mephistopheles, and Brendel first, but she never expected Brendel to present such a huge surprise.
“You’re hiding your strength!” In her view, that was the only explanation. A young man in his twenties couldn’t possibly have such terrifying battle experience. Within Brendel, she saw the shadows of those who had once battled with her. Although not as terrifying as the Dark Dragon Odin, the Wrath Dragon Alphons, or Water Crystal, he was rapidly approaching the level of those demigods from the Twilight War.
In human terms, that meant semi-divine.
After contemplating for a long time, there was only one possibility; it might be ancient adversaries disguising themselves as humans to cause her trouble. This idea was easy to understand; if she could be revived, why couldn’t others? The gods had departed, but there were still countless powerful beings that weren’t divine—among them, perhaps, the most famous were the Dark Dragon Odin and the Knight of Azure.
Upon reaching this point, Kehua’s expression changed. Her bright hair, like blazing electricity, whipped about her in anger as she shouted, “You are definitely not of the Iron-Blooded! You, you are a regal offspring! Who exactly are you!”
Regal offspring?
Brendel finally came to with Kehua’s furious roar. He had finished off all the opponents around him and had helped Himelam break free; the Priestess Maiden had been nearly cornered in earlier battles, her combat prowess inferior to Charles’, nearly suffocated by the assault of three Radiant Winged beings. She bore several injuries, her robe shredded. After finally catching her breath, she stood at a distance and thanked Brendel, “Thank you, Lord.”
Brendel glanced at his disheveled subordinate, feeling somewhat annoyed. But Kehua’s words caught his attention. What does regal offspring mean? Is Odin a regal offspring? Is the Knight of Azure a regal offspring? Odin once told him that noble blood indeed flowed through their veins, and Brendel could speculate that they might be descendants of regal offspring, but not of pure blood.
He had always been curious about the relationship between regal offspring and gods. Literally, regal offspring seem to be the subjects of the gods. There’s a mainstream school of thought in Vaunte believing that regal offspring were the first inhabitants of Vaunte, the servants of the gods, followed later by the generation of gold and the generation of silver. But according to the descriptions in the Azure Poem, regal offspring should at least stand on the same level as Martha or the divine, as the first chapter of the Azure Poem states they wove this world together with Martha.
Now, Kehua’s words hinted at something different, for she certainly knew that the gods no longer walked the earth. She had stated that she was the only awakened deity in Vaunte, yet she scolded him for not being of the Iron-Blooded but a regal offspring. While this sounded like a slip of the tongue in her extreme anger, Brendel keenly spotted a flaw, that Kehua surely understood:
Regal offspring are not gods.
So what exactly are regal offspring? In fact, Brendel had long harbored a suspicion that regal offspring might be the traveling mages, the legendary overseers. If this were true, then everything would just about make sense. Only one lingering question remained: why do both Odin and the Knight of Azure refer to themselves as descendants of regal offspring instead of directly calling themselves regal offspring? Is it humility? Or is there some concealment?
Moreover, Brendel felt that his peculiar system might have some connection to this puzzle.
He simply looked up and sarcastically smiled at Dark Kehua, “Kehua, this has nothing to do with regal offspring; it’s just that the shabby things you released are simply too weak. If we were to speak of regal offspring, aren’t there several here?” He implied while glancing at Mephistopheles and Veronika, who had just finished dealing with all the Radiant Winged beings. Even Charles had dismantled the two Radiant Winged beings opposing him. Though currently, Charles’s power was about on par with Himelam’s, his combat experience was far beyond hers.
“Stop pretending to be crazy,” Kehua fell for it and coldly replied, “What I’m saying isn’t about your pathetic abilities, but your combat instinct. Don’t you think you’re being overly absurd? A creature of elemental awakening possessing commander-level combat instincts.”
Commander-level combat instincts. Brendel caught another term. He knew how his combat instincts had been developed; it had been accumulated through experiences as a warrior at level 130. Player growth rates far exceed those of NPCs; a level 130 warrior is equivalent to hundreds of years of combat experience for the native inhabitants, or even more. He was well aware that, compared to his era, his pure combat abilities likely surpassed that of William from this era, implying he was indeed nearing the realm of divinity while still being a fair bit away from existential power.
“Could commander-level combat instincts prove I’m of regal offspring?” Brendel affected a scornful smile.
“Of course not, but are you a deity? Are you Alphons, or Water Crystal, or the Blazing One?” Kehua’s cold laugh echoed throughout the space, as she felt she had completely seen through Brendel’s disguise and brooded fiercely, it made sense now why this guy could immediately see through her weaknesses. She didn’t believe that the Iron-Blooded of this era could possess knowledge and memories about the Classical Era and the deities; not even the Silver-Blooded could.
Brendel finally understood; in Kehua’s eyes, possessing commander-level strength meant either being a god or a deity, no other possibilities existed.
He next recalled that Kehua, within the Twilight camp, was also a commander-level monster. The commander-level existence she spoke of was likely counterparts on the order side, indicating an opponent of her caliber. Brendel estimated that, according to Cruz mythology, that would refer to something above semi-divine strength.
Suddenly, Brendel began to find this interesting.
This was the first time he had come so close to the insights before the chaotic era within the game. He knew that in the game, most rewards related to plots or quests about that time were absolutely ridiculous. Any item or skill bearing the prefix [Ancient] was a symbol of something incredible, just like the Flash Blade, or the Wind Queen’s Nine Luminaries; these were close-to-ancient products—and with the Battle of Babel Fortress serving as a demarcation line, the history prior was known as the Era Before, addressing the myths and legends preceding the chaotic era.
Yet in the game, the players had only interacted with one type of item from before the Era.
The War Stone Tablet.
But even that was enough to drive everyone mad.
“Where do you come from?” Kehua suddenly asked, “Eleven, twelve, or seventeen?”
What do these numbers mean? Brendel felt somewhat bewildered, yet he maintained a poker face and pretended to look exposed, forcing a bitter smile, “No comment.”
Unexpectedly, the nearly lightning incarnate Dark Kehua suddenly quieted down, coldly glaring at him with silver eyes, “Strange; you are not of regal offspring. What exactly are you?”
“You’re the one who should wonder what you are!” Brendel cursed silently, yet he hadn’t expected the drastic volte-face in her position. Reflecting again, the issue must revolve around that set of numbers. Yet no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn’t figure out what connection there could be, and Kehua would certainly not answer him any similar questions again. Just then, Veronika and Mephistopheles finally approached him, standing on either side.
“Brendel, what riddle are you playing with her?” Veronika was the first to inquire. But Brendel felt something strange in the way she looked at him, akin to the disgruntled expression of a little girl wanting a toy yet failing to grasp it, making him feel somewhat uneasy; he thought, what kind of strange intentions does this legion commander have? He hastily replied:
“I also don’t know what she’s talking about, Lady Veronika; I just wanted to pry some information out of her.”
“Did you follow her words?” Veronika caught on.
Brendel nodded.
Their conversation was naturally observed by Kehua, who, despite having had her suspicions, was almost enraged to death. With her status and experience, she had actually been toyed with by an Iron-Blooded. Of course, she was unaware that Brendel’s experiences were rather unusual; his understanding might not be lesser than hers, but in Kehua’s eyes at this moment, Brendel was merely an insect, and the glaring fact before her was—she had been deceived by an insect.
Moreover, it was in front of her ‘sister’.
If she had a physical form, her face would surely be a mix of red and white, with all that embarrassment and anger ultimately transforming into a reverberating roar:
“You will pay the price for this, mortals!”
Suddenly, the entire space trembled slightly, making all present turn their heads, discovering Dark Kehua bathed in a brilliant halo of electricity, as hundreds, if not thousands of lightning bolts, thick as arms intertwined from all sides, flowing into her body. Witnessing this scene, Brendel reacted first: “Divine Barrier! The Divine Barrier has disappeared; that fellow is preparing to enter the fray personally!”
Indeed, the next instant, an invisible barrier shattered around Kehua as if it were glass. Before it completely fragmented, it vaguely appeared as a complete sphere, then in the blink of an eye, dissipated into thin air.
In an instant, the electric light converged upon Kehua, forming a bright electric sphere.
Kehua was completely enveloped within this electric orb, her body becoming vaguely visible, yet her eyes grew thousands of times brighter.
“Divine Power Sublimation…” Shi Do could not help but murmur, watching this scene unfold: “Divine Power Sublimation, this is Divine Power Sublimation.”
“What is that?” Haruz turned back, confused.
But the scholar lady seemed completely frozen, having not heard his inquiry, while Kehua behind the Young Prince smiled slightly, her eyes reflecting the bright sparks below, responding, “In your words, it’s akin to igniting divine flames.”
…
The originally weak flames of power known as divine energy had been ignited; initially a flicker, but gradually growing into a raging inferno.
The remnants of Milos’s divine power resembled a seed, yet at this moment, this seed had taken root and sprouted within Kehua’s body. Even Brendel could sense an overwhelming aura being born in the entire space, causing all things within to writhe and howl, the air seemingly rippling visibly, as some indescribable substances converged from all directions, merging into the electric sphere where Kehua resided.
Kehua’s dark soul was resonating with the entire Temple of the Sleepers—not, or rather, with Milos’s physical body.
Brendel suddenly understood what those merging substances were: order, laws, the power of domains—those were Milos’ divine attributes.
His expression changed drastically as he hastily shouted to the others, “Be careful, she’s become more closely aligned with Milos!”
“So this is the power of order.”
Kehua’s voice changed.
The previous proud, arrogant, cold voice seemed to have completely vanished, now replaced by one filled with thunderous resonance and authority, akin to a queen’s voice. Brendel discerned that this voice was already very similar to Milos’s timbre, except it was merely a female voice.
“Order and chaos intertwine and coexist, akin to light and shadow, and are not without significance,” Kehua raised her arm within the electric cocoon, “however, these ever-unchanging matters do not belong to you mere mortals. Allow me to eliminate obstacles for Milos and reconstruct this world.”
She proudly lifted her chin, fingers spread wide, “Accept judgment.”
Hundreds of blazing white lightning bolts rose behind Kehua amidst the astonished stares of Brendel and his companions, resembling a white peacock spreading its tail; yet after those beams formed a massive fan, they suddenly curved mid-air, piercing toward each individual in the hall.
……
