Chapter 841: Act 20 – The Knight and the Blacksmith III
“Valkyrie?” Brendel’s heart skipped a beat. He had heard of Odin’s maidens from Norse mythology. He had long suspected that if there was Valhalla, Valkyries would naturally exist; it was just a pity that Valhalla was ultimately destroyed in a great fire in “Amber Sword,” and the legends about it were buried in the ashes. Whether they ever existed was a complete mystery. Now that Bud brought up this name, Brendel felt an undeniable sense of anticipation: “Master Bud, do you mean that the Hall of Wartorn Warriors can still recruit Valkyries?”
How powerful could these legendary Valkyries be? They were the choosers of heroes, riding divine horses through the skies, a legendary presence in myth. Such a force should not be lower than tier six, right? But Brendel quickly shook his head and dismissed the thought. Valhalla was still a low-tier territory; even the most legendary of them shouldn’t be able to recruit tier six units, as that would be too outrageous. In fact, the Wind Archers, the first kind of unit produced by Valhalla, boasted an impressive tier-four strength, and if it exceeded tier six, it would seriously disrupt the balance in “Amber Sword.” This world should still adhere to the game’s rules.
So it could be tier five? Although that tier felt somewhat low for a Valkyrie, Brendel believed that was the most likely scenario. After all, legends were just legends, and there were some particularly powerful units within tier five that could compete with tier six in combat strength. For instance, Cruz’s Cupbearer Knights swore oaths when they joined, pledging to live alongside holy relics, stay poor, and embrace justice. Despite their difficult lifestyle, they gained formidable power; on the battlefield, the abilities of the holy relic allowed them to resurrect once under given conditions. They were known as the strongest army among the known tier-five forces.
Brendel believed Valkyries should belong to this category of tier-five units, neither too disruptive to the balance nor failing to display the strength of this unit type. However, all of this was his speculation; the answer still awaited revelation from Bud, the divine craftsman of the Cloud Giants. He raised his head to look at Bud.
The hall was silent, and Bud turned around, calling out, “Brynhildr, come forth.”
“Damn!” Brendel was taken aback at the mention of this name. Brynhildr was a renowned Valkyrie in Norse mythology and Icelandic epics. There were countless legends about her; some said she was Odin’s daughter, while others claimed her image was inspired by the Gothic princess Brynhildr of Austria. In many games and related works in his world, she was depicted as the foremost Valkyrie. He had, of course, heard of this famous name before, but he never expected Bud to summon such an impressive figure right away. He couldn’t help but look in that direction with curiosity. At that moment, a neigh sounded from outside the hall, and a flying horse flapped its wings as it entered through the arched window, landing on the edge of the platform. The steed was fidgety, dressed in platinum armor that burned with bright white flames, as if it had just emerged from fire. A female knight clad in armor, wearing a winged helmet that obscured her face, sat upon its back, and only her body shape could vaguely indicate her gender.
This female knight, like her steed, was engulfed in flames; white fire constantly emerged from the gaps in her heavy armor. After she landed on the platform, she didn’t dismount but held the fiery reins high and came trotting before Brendel, silent and imposing, facing the Lord.
“This is the Valkyrie?” Brendel almost mistook Brynhildr for Madara’s pale knight at first glance, but the pale knight undoubtedly didn’t possess such luxurious armor, nor did their horses have wings. After Brynhildr approached him, he noticed that her weapon was a long-handled double-edged sword, sleek and elongated like two converging platinum wings, matching perfectly with her armor and steed in a stunningly opulent display. He was nearly stunned, preparing to inquire about her combat power, then remembered he could retrieve the attributes of creatures in Valhalla, just like he had done with Monica and the others. He quickly blinked, bringing up a pale green interface that seemed to float next to Brynhildr. Upon reading it, he couldn’t help but gasp.
Brynhildr
Level 60 Valkyrie (Leader)
Strength: 1033, Constitution: 732, Agility: 740, Bloodline: 180, Will: 100, Intellect: 1.5, Perception: 155
Skills: Magic Resistance, Hero Resurrection, Final Battle
Combat Power Value: Tier VIII
“Tier eight units!” Brendel nearly blacked out, as if about to fall to the ground. The so-called combat power value was essentially a tier evaluation of units. He had initially thought Valkyries could at most be tier six units, and considering the usual trends in “Amber Sword,” a tier five unit wasn’t out of the question, perhaps just boosted with a useful skill. But the problem was, Brynhildr not only had formidable skills—though he had never heard of the ‘Final Battle’—but her ability ‘Hero Resurrection’ was identical to the Cupbearer Knight’s resurrection ability. In addition, she had Magic Resistance. In “Amber Sword,” innate magic resistance skills came in three forms: Magic Defense, Magic Resistance, and Magic Immunity, with Magic Immunity being the most bizarre, completely ignoring all magical effects and damage, a true bane to wizards; Magic Resistance on the other hand resisted 75% of magic damage and the duration of effects, while Magic Defense was the least effective, resisting only 50% of magic damage.
Magic Resistance itself was already considered a strong skill, found only among unicorns, dwarven rune guards, and Fanzan’s spell guardians. According to the rules of “Amber Sword,” units with such powerful skills were generally significantly weakened in base attributes; for example, unicorns had generally lower life than other tier six units, and spell guardians had the lowest attack among tier seven units.
This was because different professions’ base attributes increased differently as levels rose, but generally, it balanced out. More robust skills often led to weaker base attributes, just like Brendel’s Knight of the Sanctuary, fitting that category, while mercenaries belonged to a more robust base profession. So theoretically speaking, the Valkyries would have weaker base attributes among tier eight units, but what Brendel saw was that Brynhildr’s attributes were not only not weak; they were actually stronger than those of other tier eight units. Her attributes had already reached an advanced stage of element manifestation, just a step away from the truth. Ignoring her slightly lower Constitution compared to him, her Strength was exceptional, and her Agility and other average attributes were frighteningly high. Judging by base attributes and power level, Brynhildr surpassed him.
In other words, apart from the unreliable external assistance of Mephistopheles and Alorze, Brynhildr was now solidly the second combat force of Valhalla.
While regular tier eight units were just starting to manifest their powers.
“This isn’t cheating!?” Brendel’s first thought was that he had encountered the legendary backdoor left by game designers in the game. A second-tier magical territory could actually recruit tier eight units, and this so-called tier eight unit’s combat power was nearly on par with tier nine units—that was nothing short of a backdoor! Honestly, while Brendel liked falling pancakes, he never believed in free lunches. This seemed like a tempting setup, but there could very well be traps hidden beneath it; the more enticing the bait, the sharper the trap. He had encountered such things far too often in games, so everything right now didn’t excite him; instead, a strong sense of vigilance arose, and he calmly asked, “This level of power doesn’t seem to fit tier eight units, right?”
“Eh?” Bud looked at his lord with some curiosity. “The Lord can see Brynhildr’s strength at a glance?”
“Ahem—” Brendel realized he had slipped up in his moment of distraction. While Valhalla had connected with his system, Monica and the others seemed unaware of this system he possessed. Since even Monica, who managed Valhalla, did not know, Bud had even less reason to be aware. Once he sorted through this thought, he quickly explained, “I can sense a bit; it seems like this is an ability granted to me by Valhalla.”
Bud shook his head, showing no sign of suspicion. “I see, but there’s one thing you’ve misunderstood, Lord. Brynhildr isn’t a tier eight unit; she’s actually a tier nine unit.”
“Nine-tier unit,” Brendel was shocked. “Do you mean Valhalla can recruit tier nine units now?” Bud’s statement not only failed to clear things up, but it made him feel even more incredulous. How could a second-tier territory recruit tier nine units? Who would believe that? Why should that be? Was the mysterious fire that had burnt Valhalla down tied to some dark scheme?
The more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed. “Amber Sword” adhered to one principle: rewards generally corresponded to the difficulty of the tasks completed. Of course, some lucky factors could not be ruled out, but luck generally only influenced adventures. One might come across unexpected wealth, but that would certainly not occur during a formal task. Valhalla obtained its status through the Loop of Trade Winds quest line, and the narrative of that quest was epic, making the rewards exceeding fair. Everything prior felt reasonable to Brendel until today started to seem a bit much.
It was even bordering on breaking the game’s balance.
Unexpectedly, Bud shook his head again. “No, my lord, Valhalla still cannot recruit tier nine units. Even though this is a legendary territory, your ambition is a bit beyond what it can currently bear.”
“What does that mean? Didn’t you just say Brynhildr is a tier nine unit?” Brendel was dumbfounded.
“What I mean is—Brynhildr is indeed a tier nine unit, but the other Valkyries are still tier eight. This is because Brynhildr is the queen of the Valkyries, the leader among them, and her power is unparalleled. There are actually four other leaders among the Valkyries with near-tier nine strength, but the other Valkyries only possess the basic strength of tier eight armies,” Bud explained.
Brendel finally understood, realizing that it made sense. However, summoning tier eight units from a second-tier territory still felt absurd. He couldn’t help but continue asking, “It’s outrageous to summon tier nine units, but summoning tier eight units seems equally unbelievable, doesn’t it?”
Bud nodded naturally, “Of course.”
“So then—?” Brendel frowned, thinking that this seemed contradictory.
Bud glanced at him, as if realizing his lord misunderstood something, and hurried to clarify: “My lord, I fear you have misunderstood. I’m not saying that the Hall of Wartorn Warriors can recruit Brynhildr’s kin. Certainly, it is closely linked to these brave warriors, but precisely speaking, this hall is an annex of the Temple of Dawn.”
“Temple of Dawn?”
“All the Valkyries reside in the Temple of Dawn; that is their palace. The Temple of Dawn doesn’t exist in the mortal realm, but there’s an exit connecting it to the highest hall of Valhalla. Legend has it that the Temple of Dawn stretches into the mortal world through a silver staircase crafted by the hammers of our Cloud Giant craftsmen, serving as the passageway for Valkyries into this realm,” Bud elaborated.
Brendel finally understood.
In other words, the Temple of Dawn essentially served as a nest, where they could recruit the Valkyries’ souls—an impressive tier eight unit. And the craftsmen at the Hall of Wartorn Warriors could forge the entryway to this nest. This work was no different from Monica and the others cultivating other nests, barracks, or functional buildings in Valhalla. However, only the craftsmen of the Cloud Giants could accomplish this, hinging on the divine artisans before him. This was the true selling point that Gorzu had referred to.
That indeed held significant value; tier eight units, even within “Amber Sword,” were rare and precious, let alone the extremely powerful Valkyries. Once Valhalla possessed them, it could essentially be said to be the strongest fortress of this era.
If it could endure, unlike in the game where it succumbed to natural disasters and misfortunes, it wasn’t impossible for this kingdom to one day become an empire.
Yet, Brendel remained calm; indeed, there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Having a second-tier territory summoning tier eight creatures was a daydream he should refrain from nurturing. The conditions Bud had laid out clearly constrained the emergence of the Temple of Dawn tightly. Without undetermined resource expenditures and time requirements, it was unlikely they would see these legendary warriors before Valhalla fully matured.
Having considered this, he raised his head and asked, “So, Master Bud, what are the requirements to forge the silver staircase to the Temple of Dawn?”
Sure enough, Bud’s first response was, “That’s a long process. Forging a staircase to the heavens requires countless craftsmen’s lifetime efforts. Even if we start working day and night right now, it will take at least one to two thousand years to recreate the Temple of Dawn’s former glory.”
“Damn, are you kidding me? Game designers, you clearly never intended for this to happen!” Brendel, although mentally prepared, couldn’t help but curse inwardly at that statement. He immediately felt like he was wasting time here. However, he then recalled another issue. When Monica mentioned the time needed to cultivate Valhalla, she, too, indicated that it counted in hundreds of years. But once ample Light Spirits and resources were available, that time shortened remarkably to just half a year. Realizing this, Brendel’s heart lifted slightly. The Hall of Wartorn Warriors would clearly grow alongside Valhalla, and perhaps with an increase in Cloud Giant craftsmen, this time could be shortened significantly.
Of course, he didn’t expect to see Valkyries in half a year. If he could see a tier eight unit within ten years, that would be of substantial significance to Erluin.
Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but ask, “If Valhalla grows gradually, how much can that time be shortened?”
“That’s hard to say; we are still naive and unknowing about the future,” Bud replied. “However, if you’re eager to see these brave warriors, we do have another way.”
Brendel paused slightly, curious as he asked, “What method?”
“As you can see, not all Valkyries remain in the Temple of Dawn. In fact, after Valhalla’s battle, there were quite a few Valkyries whose souls remained in the mortal world, just like Brynhildr and several of her subordinates. However, most of these Valkyries were heavily wounded during that war and now slumber, their spirits bound to their broken armor and weapons. As long as we restore these armors and weapons, and if your lord can retrieve their steeds, we can awaken these dormant female warriors,” Bud explained.
Brendel took a deep breath.
“What materials are needed to restore their armors and weapons? How long will it take, and where should I go to retrieve their steeds?” He couldn’t help but feel excited as he spoke; if earlier there had been a sense of unrealistic fortune, now it felt like a genuine task-oriented exchange. Brendel was well aware that awakening each Valkyrie would likely cost him significantly, but it would absolutely be worth it.
Because each Valkyrie awakened meant Valhalla would gain a top-tier combat power that was at least on the cusp of element manifestation, if not full-fledged.
Bud paused briefly before speaking, “The lord will need to prepare River Gold, sever the Future’s Fang, the Blood of the Hydra Lizard, and Singing Silver. As for the Valkyries’ steeds—”
Monica spoke up, “You must construct the nest of the Windsteed.”
“Damn it.” After hearing all these requirements, Brendel collapsed to the ground.
…
(PS: This is the last chapter of the month. How I updated this month is evident; I haven’t missed a day, and I’ve had double updates right on schedule during weekends. I humbly request next month’s monthly tickets and promise to maintain the same dedication. I hope everyone will look forward to it. Considering a double update for the beginning of next month, likely through next Monday. I sincerely ask for everyone’s continued support.)
