Chapter 830: Act 11 – The Domain of the Mountains and the King of Silman
“Are you saying you agreed?” Brendel disregarded the Dark Kehua’s petty demeanor and perceived the softening in her tone. The thought of disaster seemed to be an unexpected boon for her; even the frustration and anger from her defeat in the Frostdeath Forest were no longer apparent on her face. After much hesitation, the Dark Kehua finally spoke, “I have one condition.”
“Speak.”
“You must promise to provide me protection during this time. If anyone wishes to harm me or my sister, regardless of who they are, you must do everything in your power to ensure our safety. Furthermore, when I believe I am capable of protecting myself independently, I can choose to leave at my discretion, and you cannot obstruct me. Only then can I consider reluctantly agreeing to your request.”
Brendel looked into the blood-red eyes of the Dark Kehua and did not directly respond. “The last condition needs slight modification. When you can defeat me, then you are free to leave.”
The Dark Kehua bared her teeth at him, unable to suppress the sharp canine features unique to the Twilight Wolf Clan. “When I can defeat you, I’ll definitely chop you into pieces, you bastard,” she thought, but still nodded, reluctantly agreeing to Brendel’s terms. Originally, the last point was just her being unreasonable, trying to extort Brendel, but she was embarrassed to drag it out when he saw through it.
Brendel then pushed a piece of armor from his desk forward and asked calmly, “What is the origin of this breastplate?” The request for protection was not unexpected; he could tell she was harboring a sense of insecurity about her current situation. Though he had promised Milos not to kill her, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t hand her over. In the civilized world, there were organizations like the Four Great Temples that pursued order and power. If the Temple of Fire discovered her whereabouts and demanded he hand her over, he would have no reason to jeopardize his interests for a potential enemy who held no value for him. He understood the Dark Kehua’s mindset; she might act tough, but she cared deeply for her life.
Moreover, she was also greedy for power and the high status that came with it. For the Good Kehua, he could persuade her with reason, but for the Dark Kehua, it was far too easy to catch her by her weak point.
The Dark Kehua looked at the breastplate with a displeased expression and reluctantly replied, “This breastplate is called the Rift of Lonia, crafted for Lonia, the supreme king of the Radiant People. It is just a part of it. This set of armor was known as the Sin of Logic in our time because it has the ability to distort laws; the effect of conventional law lines is completely warped when they strike it, losing their effectiveness.”
“Isn’t that invincible?” Brendel said, glancing at the breastplate in surprise; such an effect was at least on the level of a divine artifact.
“Not so exaggerated, don’t look at me like that or it’ll make you look like a country bumpkin,” the Dark Kehua replied disdainfully. “It’s just a distortion; it’s a far cry from being able to completely isolate laws.” Before the Dark Kehua finished speaking, Brendel examined the armor himself. The breastplate’s original classification was ‘breastplate (ancient)’, but after the Dark Kehua’s description, it changed to:
Rift of Lonia (Breastplate), Defense 5, Strength +15, Constitution +75, Door of Law: Weakens the attack power of laws by one level.
This was indeed an ancient item. Seeing the bizarre attributes, Brendel understood, and how could this breastplate not be called invincible in the Dark Kehua’s opinion? He could not help but swallow hard; weakening law attacks by one level meant that the effects of the law lines against the manifestation of elements would be virtually nullified. An opponent whose elements had been awakened would find that law lines appeared weaker than those at the pinnacle of Gold, and the only disadvantage of this breastplate was that its capabilities were essentially useless against opponents beneath the awakening of elements. Still, this one drawback was negligible compared to its advantages, as it significantly enhanced defenses against law lines, and this was only one component of the set of armor. Brendel found it hard to imagine what the full set of the Rift of Lonia would be like in terms of attributes.
“The Radiant People are Twilight beings?”
“No,” the Kehua shook her head. “They are the Golden People.”
“Golden People?” Brendel suddenly realized that this armor might have been a trophy of the Kehua’s past battles. Sure enough, she proudly answered, “I did indeed take this off Lonia’s corpse. It’s not worth much, just a memento, so I only kept the breastplate with his emblem.”
“You wastrel…” Brendel began to understand how horrifying the Kehua was in ancient times; no wonder mortals meant nothing to her. Falling to this state now was a hardship for her.
“What about this one?” Brendel moved his hand from the breastplate to a demonic longbow. The classification of ancient items is quite vague; the Rift of Lonia had the strength of a mythic item and was nearly akin to a semi-artifact in certain respects, yet it lacked the ability to change the battlefield outcome instantaneously, unlike semi-artifacts, which often had extraordinary origins far beyond those of ordinary mythic items.
“This is the Bow of Retaliation.”
“What use does it have?”
“Hmph, it has another name, the Retribution Bow, meaning one life for one life. This bow is crafted from the skull of a fire demon lord from the lower levels of the River of Sulfur. To me, it’s just an interesting toy.”
Brendel frowned slightly at the Dark Kehua’s description, which gave him a bad premonition. He checked the bow’s attributes, which changed to the following based on her simple description:
Bow of Retaliation, Attack Power 75-105, Retribution: Costs one soul to fire once.
There were no attribute bonuses, and its attack power was absurdly high, nearly rivaling the Holy Spear of the Sky. When he further examined the attached skill, he understood that this was unequivocally a demonic item. Brendel had always treated demonic items with caution, but he still asked, “Does this bow require the user to sacrifice their life to fire?”
“Of course not; otherwise, who would use such a foolish thing? This bow uses others’ lives for its firing; it can easily kill an existence that has awakened elements, as if squashing an ant,” the Kehua answered.
Brendel was stunned: this bow was unbelievably powerful? Although sacrificing a life to gain a chance to fire sounded sinister, during battle, there could be multiple enemies. He could first take out the weaker opponents, then obtain an opportunity to fire against those who had elements awakened. Elements awakened beings held high status in any area; this bow seemed too outrageous.
But the Dark Kehua seemed to read his expression and guessed his thoughts. “Don’t dream; ordinary souls could never drive it. The soul that powers this bow must at least possess the seed of laws.”
“Seed of laws?”
“In your terms, it means it has to have at least awakened elements.”
“Whoa.” Brendel immediately lost interest in the bow. Demonic items truly lived up to their reputation, riddled with uselessness. “What about this thing?” He took out the heavy stone-made staff, only to see the Dark Kehua glance at it with a flicker in her eyes: “This item has its own backstory; I’ll tell you later. Let me first tell you about the origin of that cavalry sword.”
Brendel paused slightly, not rushing to nod. She gazed at the cavalry sword with the guard in the shape of a pod—it was a one-handed sword, somewhat resembling a command sword, and the whole piece was quite exquisite, resembling a ceremonial artifact. “This is the work of the fire spirits; they forged this sword from the Great Crucible. I really like its design; it’s also my trophy,” the Dark Kehua replied with lingering resentment. “It’s called the Domain of Fire.”
Upon hearing this name, Brendel was taken aback. He suddenly recalled a similar weapon owned by his senior from a previous life, called the Domain of Wind; that staff was also an ancient item. He now remembered that the staff and this cavalry sword were very similar, both having a statue of the King of Wind Spirits at the head.
He instinctively glanced at Nemeses, noticing that the Lady Knight was also looking strangely at the sword, evidently reminiscing about something. “Could this sword be part of the same set as that staff?” Brendel picked up the sword:
Domain of Fire, Attack Power 55-87, Bloodline/Strength +100, Flame Bloodline: When the Domain of Fire is in flames, its enhanced attributes are converted into strength. Additionally, when the wielder comes into contact with fire, they do not take damage; instead, the damage converts into healing effects. When the wielder casts fire-related spells, casting speed +3.
What extreme attributes! Brendel marveled; such extreme attributes among ancient items were rare in contemporary magical items. This sword was a typical magical sword, and a magic swordsman wielding it would thrive, but it was a pity he wasn’t treading the path of magic swordsmen. He looked at Nemeses and then set the sword down, waiting for the Dark Kehua’s final explanation.
Undoubtedly, the most valuable of these five pieces of equipment would be the stone staff.
As expected, the Kehua cast a glance at the staff, sighed, and said, “Actually, this staff should be familiar to you. It is the aspect of the Mountains.”
“The aspect of the Mountains?” Nemeses was the first to speak, frowning and asking, “Is it a holy artifact of the Goddess Gaia?”
“That’s the one!” After Nemeses’s reminder, Brendel recalled immediately. To this day, the area known as the Benin Plains, which borders the southwestern outskirts of the Cruz Empire and Erluin, remains a traditional influence of the Hallowed Temple of Earth. To the north lies a steep mountain covered in ice and snow, which separates the empire’s southern borders from the Benin Plains—this is the domain of the Toquinin Lion Kingdom. Historically, the Gold-maned Lionmen had fled from the Sacred Covenant, an action that brought them shame. After the victory of the Holy War, the Toquinin and the Hallowed Temple were thus excluded, inciting hatred between humanity and the Lionmen, which persists to this day. The Toquinin Lionmen continue to infringe upon human borders, as if to reclaim their lost glory.
In more ancient times, before the fall of Babel Fortress, it was said that in the towering mountains to the north of the Benin Plains, there stood a temple dedicated to the Earth Goddess, where three artifacts were housed. One was the Sword of Earth, another the Holy Spear of the Sky, and the remaining one was the Aspect of the Mountains.
Among these three artifacts, the Sword of Earth was the holy sword granted to the giant hero Miguel. After Miguel’s defeat and death, this sword was lost among mortals. The Harangaya in Brendel’s possession is this very object, though it has suffered irreversible damage in the war against the Twilight, leaving it only with the power of a fantasy-tier weapon, its symbolic significance to the Hallowed Temple far surpassing its actual utility.
As for the Holy Spear of the Sky, its origins need no elaboration; it is the sacred object bestowed upon mortal heroes by Gaia. As for the final piece, the Aspect of the Mountains, it is the very artifact of the Earth Goddess herself. In the legends of the multiverse, only her priests may wield it, and those who do are said to naturally become the next master of the Hallowed Temple, the holy elect of the Goddess Gaia.
And among Brendel’s followers, there happens to be such a person.
The shepherdess of Himelam, Himelam.
Priests of Himelam worship the eldest daughter of the Earth Goddess Gaia, the Goddess of the Tundra, and can be considered as lesser deities of Gaia. The critical point is that in this era, the priests of the Hallowed Temple actually worship the giant Miguel, the creator of dwarves, while the true priests of Gaia disappeared long before the Holy War. The priests of Himelam, however, are those who remain closest to this divine system.
Brendel suppressed his excitement and cautiously grasped the staff; it was heavy and somewhat cold to the touch. Among the three holy artifacts of Gaia, the Sword of Earth, the Spear of Sky, and the Aspect of the Mountains are genuine artifacts. Aside from the Sword of Earth being damaged, the other two pieces remain intact. Thus, the staff in his hand should genuinely be an artifact.
He raised the staff, and a dark golden page, comprising the attribute menu, appeared before his eyes:
Aspect of the Mountains (Artifact), Attack 1-215, Strength +(1-400), Chosen of Earth and Mountains: The wielder of the staff gains warrior levels and combat experience equivalent to their priest level, allowing them to incorporate the blessing spells from the Earth into their combat style. The more blessings they obtain, the higher the attack power and attribute bonuses of this staff.
Special: Only priests of Gaia may use this staff—
Brendel looked at these attributes, unable to suppress a slight gasp. What kind of absurd properties were these? An attack power of 1-215? The upper limit approached nearly twice that of the Spear of Sky, which was already claimed to be one of the strongest artifacts in terms of attack. Yet looking at the lower limit of attack made him want to cry and laugh at the same time. Was this legendary staff truly a weapon that depended on luck? When he glanced again at the attribute bonuses, he became even more puzzled; how could these bonuses fluctuate?
He instinctively looked back at the additional skills and suddenly realized what was going on. However, he still didn’t quite understand what this so-called blessing of the Earth was. The entire weapon’s attribute description was hazy and unclear, and perhaps only when Himelam came to try it out could he truly comprehend what it was.
After hesitating for a moment, he set down the artifact, and at that moment, a small orb of light flew in through the skylight of the hall and landed in front of Brendel, dropping a letter. When Brendel glanced at the letter, he was taken aback; it bore the emblem of a grey wolf.
This was not due to confusion, but surprise. He hadn’t expected the opportunity to arise at this moment; the days of waiting seemed to suddenly hold value: “Carglis has finally arrived.” He exhaled a sigh of relief, raising his head to look at the Good Kehua, who had apparently read his thoughts. She smiled gently and said, “I’ve heard that Lord Earl is preparing for a war. It seems the time has come. Unfortunately, the Kehua is not interested in such matters, so I must take my leave.”
Brendel appeared somewhat awkward. Divine power was sometimes an incredible thing in the eyes of mortals. Although he knew the Kehua would not use it for ill, he still felt deeply uncomfortable. He couldn’t help but explain, “This isn’t for war; it’s for peace.” Brendel replied, perhaps unwilling to leave a bad impression. But to his surprise, the girl shook her head: “I understand, Lord Earl. Not all conflicts are meaningless; wars have various purposes for personal gain or for justice, and can even embody both evil and righteousness. I do not oppose war; I simply dislike fighting. You need not be overly concerned.”
After saying this, she slightly bowed to Brendel before taking her leave, behaving not like a demigod but more like a well-mannered noble girl.
Meanwhile, the Dark Kehua stood still, having seemingly not heard her sister’s conversation with Brendel. She remained motionless until her sister departed, then shook her head and said, “So naive.”
Brendel didn’t expect her to be so scathing towards her twin sister and couldn’t help but look at her. To his surprise, the Lady Knight Nemeses also seemed to agree, yet soon realized that the Good Kehua’s desire to avoid conflict was indeed quite naive. Disliking war isn’t a bad thing, but sometimes disputes cannot be avoided by simply wanting to. Avoiding war is essentially just basking in the protection others provide you.
Yet one day, all those willing to fight for you will leave you, and you will have no way to evade the inevitable. When Anlek forced her into that conflict, it was the Dark Kehua who stood up for her sister, but what if the Dark Kehua was no longer around?
Brendel shook his head, then said to the small orb of light, “Please, help me call Monica.”
The Light Spirit gleefully nodded at him in mid-air and dashed out of the hall in an instant.
Brendel opened the letter; indeed, it was from that familiar name—
”I have never dared to forget your kindness; I await your esteemed presence.”
—Kewen
He raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the hall’s stained-glass arches, seeing under the azure sky, at the other end of the horizon, where mountains rose among the pines. The curtain of the autumn war had finally been drawn.
……
