Chapter 901: Act 77 – From Valgris to Lune
The news of the Jotungrund invading the Empire was too shocking for everyone, and they needed some time to digest it. After the four court knights left, others also dispersed. Metisa, Charles, and the others needed to prepare for the battles that might come next, while other members of the embassy were each lost in their own thoughts, eventually being persuaded by Brendel to return. The only one left by his side was Juliette, the commander of the female mercenary band accompanying the embassy, who needed to stay behind to wait for Brendel’s orders.
However, there were two unexpected guests. QiYala remained curiously nearby, showing no sign of wanting to leave, and the Duchess also seemed intent on staying.
After everyone left, QiYala finally spoke up, “Hey, what exactly are you planning?”
Brendel glanced at the young girl, “What are you doing here?”
“Why can’t I stay?” QiYala replied. “You haven’t answered my question yet.”
“Of course it’s to resolve trouble; haven’t I said so before?”
“Hmph, I could have guessed that even if you hadn’t said it,” the little girl replied proudly. “But are you really planning to side with the Crusian?”
Brendel returned her gaze because of her rare Crusian bloodline, her eyes displayed a natural light blue, as clear as glass.
“We have shared interests now, why not?” Brendel responded.
“That may be true, but it doesn’t quite fit your style.”
Brendel found it amusing and couldn’t help but tease her, “Miss QiYala, I’ve spent less than a month with you, and half of that time hiding in the coach. How well do you think you know my style?”
QiYala glanced at the Duchess beside them, “Arbitrary, self-willed—”
“Stop!” Brendel saw the Duchess’s lips move, seeming to want to speak, and quickly called a halt; he already had enough on his plate.
QiYala giggled, “What’s wrong? I don’t know why, but I feel like you really dislike the Empire. At least you wouldn’t say something righteous like—what was it? Loyal allies of the Empire? Such talk is just for show among other nobles, I don’t believe your nonsense.”
Brendel looked at this girl from the Siphai family with some surprise. She was not much younger than Golan-Elsen’s little lady, but compared to the latter, she seemed like an adult while QiYala still possessed a real childish innocence. He hadn’t expected her to have observed him so closely and nearly deduced his mindset perfectly. If it had been someone familiar with him or a keen observer like an older student, he wouldn’t have found it surprising, but instead, it was a little girl.
“What? Scared?” QiYala asked, looking at him. “Actually, it’s nothing to worry about. Everything about you is written on your face; it’s not difficult at all. I actually know a lot more things. So, how about we strike a deal?” She looked at Brendel confidently and said, “You’re definitely not coming to the Empire for the holy war; at least not just for that. You don’t need to lie to me. Even if you tell me, I won’t believe you. In any case, whatever you are planning must be quite troublesome. Although you’ve got a good understanding of the trends, your mind is too dull. The opening and endgame in chess are equally important; often, the latter decides victory or defeat. If you ask me for help, I might just take pity on you.”
Brendel stared at this boastful girl, “Well then, I really must thank you.”
“Actually, it’s not necessary. I can tell you’re very stubborn and wouldn’t humble yourself to ask me,” QiYala continued, “But we can make an exchange: you tell me about the knowledge inheritance of the Bud, and I’ll help you with your strategies?”
Brendel watched as this little girl revealed her ulterior motives and couldn’t help but shake his head. This wasn’t the first time she seemed to be aiming for his non-existent knowledge of the Bud. However, he wasn’t in the mood to tell this little girl bedtime stories, so he casually replied, “The knowledge of the Bud cannot be explained in a short time. Their knowledge is documented in scrolls that could fill the White Tower. I’m afraid we won’t even finish the beginning before we leave the Empire; fairness is key in a deal. I won’t make an unfair exchange.”
“That’s alright!” QiYala blurted out, “Anyway, I’ll be living with you for quite a while.”
“Hmm?” Brendel looked at her in confusion.
The little girl quickly patted her cheeks and corrected herself, “I mean I can stay with you for a while. What? Wouldn’t you welcome a lady as a guest?”
Brendel looked her up and down and couldn’t connect this conceited girl with the image of a lady.
At that moment, a true lady, the Duchess of Vielo, finally seized the opportunity to cut in on their pointless conversation and asked, “Lord Earl, did you know about the Jotungrund matter ahead of time?”
“What matter?” Brendel noticed the suspicious look from the Duchess and hesitated slightly.
“The one that is happening right now; did you know about it earlier?” The Duchess stared intently at him. She had been wanting to ask this question since earlier. When Brendel and Rogers told that story, she remembered Brendel’s promise—it was true that he had upset the Crusian, but if he could step in and turn the situation around now, everything he had previously done wouldn’t bring him trouble but rather shine as a badge of honor. He would be a noble who would neither submit to the Empire’s might nor forsake justice due to personal grudges. Considering his performance in this war, one could imagine what kind of fame and reputation this would bring him both in the Empire and the Kingdom.
But what began to make the Duchess’s heart feel some fear was how he had guessed all this? How did he know about the Jotungrund’s attack? How did he foresee the Empire falling into trouble?
If this was a pre-arranged scheme, that would be too terrifying.
Brendel looked at Oni, as if anticipating her thoughts, and nodded, “Yes, Miss Oni. It was actually I who contacted the Jotungrund to form an alliance between the Subterranean people and the Toquinin lions, instructing them to attack the Empire. You know, I have a Sword of the Earth; although it’s broken, it’s still usable. Previously in the Loop of Trade Winds, I saw them cry and beg me to be their chief, and they even said they would give me their Saintess to marry. However, adhering to the principle that different species cannot intermarry, I sternly refused. By the way—have you seen their Saintess?”
The Duchess widened her eyes at this lord. As she continued to listen, the story became increasingly absurd, and she finally realized he was just teasing her: “You…” In the end, she could only huff in annoyance, fully aware that this guy would never tell her the truth.
Meanwhile, Juliette let out a small chuckle when Brendel mentioned the lion people’s Saintess, thinking that her lord was simply too unserious. If those words spread to the lion clan, the enemies of golden maned Toquinin might not be the Empire tomorrow, but the newly appointed head of the Erluin embassy. She chuckled, which caught Brendel’s attention. He hadn’t seen his charming mercenary commander act this way before, and Juliette immediately realized her gaffe, quickly composed herself, and lowered her head to complain about her lord.
Despite the absurdity of Brendel’s remarks, he didn’t deny the doubts raised by Oni. The Duchess contemplated briefly before understanding the implication. Though she had been anxious these days, although the present circumstances seemed worse, they did give her a glimmer of hope—at least it appeared their embassy leader wasn’t completely unreliable; many called him a madman, but how many had anticipated today’s occurrence?
She remained silent for a moment, as if feeling more confident, “Lord Earl, what you discussed with the Crusian, is it true?”
“I’ve talked to them about many things, and among them inevitably some nonsense,” Brendel answered. “But which part are you asking about?”
The Duchess shot him an irritated look, “You said we could turn the situation around; you weren’t joking, were you?”
“Not entirely,” Brendel said. “Miss Oni, this is the beginning of a great war. There’s very little we can influence in this war. To be serious, at least up to now, whether we are here or not, the outcome of this war wouldn’t change significantly.”
The Duchess’s eyes widened once again. She understood diplomatic etiquette, but was clueless regarding military matters, “But you spoke to them like that?”
QiYala couldn’t help but chuckle at their conversation.
“Miss Oni,” she interjected, “that’s this guy’s cunning; in a war, any factor can influence the outcome, but the key issue is how much influence. He can certainly turn the situation around, but the crucial point is to what extent, and that’s hard to say. No one is a deity that can guarantee such things.”
“So you’re deceiving them?” The Duchess felt herself retreating from her earlier thoughts. After all, they were court knights of the Empire, the royal spies, which was not so different from lying in front of the supreme being of the Empire.
“I wouldn’t say deceiving. We can indeed withdraw. I merely took measures to give them a bit of confidence—after all, defending the Empire is their duty, not ours. It’s already generous of us to help them.” Brendel replied, “You can rest assured; no one knows how bad or good the situation will ultimately become. We don’t necessarily need to defeat the Jotungrund, but as long as we do better than others, that’s enough; what actually happens in the end depends on how we play it.”
The Duchess finally grasped a glimmer of understanding, as it didn’t seem all that different from diplomatic affairs, after all, both required shamelessness: “Lord Earl, then what do you plan to do next? Will the embassy be in danger?”
Brendel shook his head this time. He couldn’t answer that question. Just as Nemeses said, history had pulled everyone back to the same starting line. The Jotungrund’s participation had completely altered the history he was familiar with. Jotungrund was not a genuine nation in the usual sense; it could perhaps only be termed a realm, a collective term for the underground world. Below the darkness, there were only lords, city lords, and chieftains, various groups living together, forming scattered powers large and small. He still wasn’t clear about which lord or lords he was connecting with the Toquinin lions. However, he felt an ominous premonition deep down that this invasion was not simple.
The structure of power in Jotungrund determined that its lords rarely engaged in large-scale military actions. But if the current situation was indeed as he predicted, it was a rare move of the underground world, likely not just the action of a few lords. However, he felt that thought was perhaps too outrageous for him to accept.
A thick fog was before him waiting to be dispersed. His extensive knowledge of history was quietly collapsing, leaving him with only his experiences from two lifetimes.
Brendel answered in a low voice, “I have a vague idea, but it needs to be confirmed; before that, we should try to minimize conflicts with them, but still prioritize breaking through. If we accidentally fall into the encirclement of those underground creatures, we won’t be able to do anything.”
“Break through,” the Duchess asked, “in what direction?”
“Preferably towards the Inner Sea.”
“Inner Sea?”
Brendel nodded.
The melting snow atop the peaks of Anzeruta formed rivers, these rivers flowed west through many principalities into the Moon’s End Sea, south into Erluin, and eventually into the Shining Sea. The northern rivers formed inland rivers, flowing through the northern regions of Anziluwa, gradually eroding into a hilly area, today’s Floating Cloud Hills. Among them, the most famous is the Surge Silver River, which crosses Anziluwa and opens up the Surge Silver Valley. The area south of the valley is called the Valgris region, encompassing various towns like Valgris and Iron Yew Town, while to the north lies the Bear Lake region, where rivers formed lakes on the hilly plateau, then changed course towards the east due to the obstruction of the Short-maned Mountains, flowing into a huge inland lake.
That lake is what Brendel referred to as the Inner Sea—the Empire’s Inner Sea.
The Inner Sea, also known as the Sublime Inner Sea, is a massive inland lake that spans dozens of regions and has a high salinity, making it more than just a lake. The Sublime Inner Sea stretches from Cloak Bay in the west, north to the Mez region, east to the Short-maned Mountains, adjacent to the Evergreen Path, and south to the end of the Lokos Plateau, a fertile alluvial plain. The entire Sublime Inner Sea almost divides the Empire from east to west and from north to south, but it has nurtured the most splendid civilization of the Crusian. Countless ports and cities dot the coastline, tightly linking this massive Empire over the past millennium. In the long river of time, the regions surrounding the Inner Sea have formed the most prosperous and quintessential areas of the Empire, with the continuous southern great plains, the bustling trade of Cloak Bay, the shipbuilding hub of Bandilien, and the heartland of the Empire—the Violet Valley.
One could even bluntly state that if the Empire was a precise magical machine, the Sublime Inner Sea is the magical core of this machine. It provides the Empire with endless power and energy, resources, manpower, and money, and even the decrees coming from the center of the Empire are transmitted to all corners through the Inner Sea.
And the Sublime Inner Sea reveals a corner to the west of the Floating Cloud Hills, at the estuary of the Surge Silver River. Brendel knew there was a port named Lune located there. This port was not well-known, but it stood with Yasar to the north and south of the Evergreen Path. If Yasar fell, then this port would be the last foothold for the Empire to push back into Anziluwa. Of course, Jotungrund would not miss this port. However, the focus of their attacks would certainly be Yasar, not Lune, because the Violet Valley to the west of the Evergreen Path and the Flower Leaf territory to the north were garrisoned with numerous local legions. Not to mention, the Red Legion in the Four Boundaries Wilderness. If they couldn’t take Yasar in the shortest time possible, even if Toquinin’s golden-maned lions broke through the Rokos-Broken Sword Mountains defensive line, they would be blocked in Valgris by various Imperial forces rushing over. By then, to take back Yasar would likely come at a heavy cost.
Conversely, after taking Yasar, dealing with the little port of Lune would be a matter of catching fish in a barrel. At that point, even if the Crusian reacted, they surely wouldn’t let the troops of the Violet Valley cross the Sublime Inner Sea to support Lune, right?
Once Lune fell, the Empire’s navy would lose the foothold for landing, and the center of the war would have to return to Yasar. The Empire would have to break through from the land route, which was evidently what the Jotungrund’s underground population most anticipated.
The Duchess seemed to understand Brendel’s thoughts, but her gaze fell on the map. Between Valgris and Lune, there were at least three regions crossed; this route would clearly not be smooth and would involve how many breakthroughs.
“That road isn’t easy to travel,” QiYala, unlike the Duchess’s silence, directly asked, “Jotungrund is already ahead of us; are you sure you can break through their blockade?”
Brendel gently shook his head; the assurance depended on confirmed information. At this moment, all they could do was wait—believing that soon they would receive precise news back. From Valgris to the Bear Lake region, to what extent had the Jotungrund’s army advanced today, how had the stationed Imperial forces reacted, especially those private armies below the nobles, and even if they escaped, where did they run to? All of this was information he needed.
