Chapter 904: Act 80 – Arriving at Gravel Town
Brendel pushed through the trees, the branches and leaves of the bushes rustling like a window opening on a dense thicket, revealing the scenery behind; looking down, there were layers of undulating plateaus, and among the mountains was a bright mirror-like surface—that was Brown Bear Lake. Everyone let out a long sigh of satisfaction. These days, trekking through the rugged mountains and forests to avoid an encounter with Jotungrund had not been easy, especially after abandoning the coach; it was utterly exhausting for these delicate young masters and noble gentlemen.
“Brendel, there seems to be something over there!” Only Romaine seemed tireless. She was holding the little lady of Golan-Elsen, whose nurse was now leaning on someone else to move forward, and was peering around eagerly when she soon called out.
Brendel knew her perception was extraordinary and hurriedly stopped to ask, “Can you see what it is?”
“It looks like people, one or two.”
“Are they alive or dead?” QiYala also asked. Over the past few days, they had witnessed Merchant Miss’s abilities more than once; initially, there may have been some doubts, but gradually it turned into envy and astonishment. Thanks to Romaine, the embassy’s guards didn’t even need to risk sending gargoyles into the sky for reconnaissance. Though gargoyles had a wide field of vision, they were also more easily exposed in the air, and Jotungrund had harpies and wyverns as their air force.
“I don’t know; they’re sitting back-to-back under a beech tree.”
“Have they moved?”
“It seems they haven’t.”
“Then they are likely dead; where exactly are they?”
“By the lakeside, there’s a white rock under the third tree,” Romaine replied.
Everyone gasped in shock. From here to Brown Bear Lake was at least ten miles away; all they could see were layers upon layers of treetops as thick as a black blanket. Yet this Merchant Miss could see two people under a tree by the lakeside at a glance. What kind of vision was that? Golan-Elsen’s little lady looked at Romaine with a hint of admiration and said cheerfully, “Sister Romaine, you’re amazing!”
Romaine felt delighted inside but maintained a serious facade, replying, “That’s only natural; I’m quite remarkable.”
Brendel gave her a glance. Although she stiffened her face, the crescent-shaped eyes betrayed her inner thoughts. He shook his head and said, “Let’s go see.”
Once they reached the area of Brown Bear Lake, avoiding Jotungrund was no longer possible. In this region was Gravel Town, the only exit west of Silverflow Valley. Brendel believed the underground dwellers would not overlook this strategic point. Hence, rather than passively combating them, it was better to prepare. The group descended the mountain down to the spot where Romaine had pointed, and indeed saw two bodies sitting back to back under a tree; they were two dead Crusian soldiers.
As everyone parted the brambles to approach the bodies, Romaine quickly shielded the eyes of Golan-Elsen’s little lady, while the others clearly saw the grey military cloaks draped over the corpses, which bore a star-shaped rose emblem. Brendel recognized the emblem as belonging to the cavalry riders of Calonia, confirming that these two were likely soldiers from a legion in Anziluwa. “Calonia’s cavalry riders—these are Sir Cooper’s troops!” a nearby Crusian noble recognized the identities of the bodies, exclaiming in lower tones, “The North Mountain outpost has already fallen?”
“Where is the North Mountain outpost?” Brendel asked.
“It’s to the north of here, along the route leading to Bous,” Rogers answered while observing the corpses.
Brendel nodded and crouched down beside the bodies to inspect the wounds closely. The first corpse had a penetrating wound but wasn’t fatal; he had died from excessive blood loss. After comparing the cut in the armor beneath the cloak, he quietly concluded that the Calonia cavalry rider was a third-tier unit, and the one who killed him was likely another third-tier unit from Jotungrund, a razor-boar. This war beast was domesticated by the Shadel troglodytes. Since razor-boars appeared here, nearby activity by Shadel troglodytes was likely.
The razor-boar’s special abilities were a charge and hardiness. Its charging ability resembled that of a warrior’s charge, while hardiness allowed it to produce false life equal to 10% of its total HP after taking lethal damage, until the false life was consumed or lasted more than ten minutes before the razor-boar truly died. Brendel recalled the abilities of the razor-boar and cursed to himself, wondering why its abilities were so similar to his own. Yet, he was more puzzled by how the razor-boar’s abilities were countered by the low bellow of the Calonia cavalry rider; the low bellow could instill fear in most beasts, aside from demons, making it a weapon against other cavalry. Logically, if the Calonia cavalry rider had been intent on escaping, the razor-boar would find it hard to pose a real threat.
With this confusion, he inspected the second corpse, which had peculiar injuries; its neck and arms were oddly contorted, resembling fractures. Generally, such injuries result from blunt force trauma, but no signs of blunt trauma were found on this body. As Brendel pondered this strangeness, Princess Margadale arrived with Dierphir by her side, frowning as she glanced at the two bodies and said, “Lord Earl, no need to be puzzled; he died from a fall.”
“From a fall?” Brendel suddenly realized. This person must have fallen from the back of the Calonia cavalry, breaking his spine and dying instantly; his body would have been claimed by another companion, who also perished from blood loss.
“It can’t be that simple; a well-trained cavalry rider wouldn’t fall from their mount; they are secured to the saddle.” QiYala interjected, squatting down beside Brendel, preparing to poke the bodies, but her hand was promptly pulled back by him. “Stay away from these things, little girl,” Brendel replied grumpily.
“I’m not a little girl!”
Brendel paused to assess the little one.
QiYala looked very displeased; she muttered something under her breath that no one could hear, likely not good things. However, her earlier words reminded him that the cavalry rider must have been pulled off from the back of the ground dragon. All the straps on his waist and legs were broken, clearly torn rather than cut; Shadel troglodytes evidently lacked this capability, and only a rampaging ground dragon could result in such destruction.
However, Calonia ground dragons were usually very docile, rarely going berserk on the battlefield, and they weren’t easily startled. Their attachment to their riders was profound; even if the rider tragically met their end, they would linger near their rider’s body for a long time. Brendel found it hard to fathom why these two Calonia cavalry riders would die alone here, with no trace of their mounts nearby. While a rare event of a ground dragon going berserk could be accepted, the current scene was too bizarre.
After thinking for a long time without reaching any conclusions, at that moment, Romaine suddenly called out from behind, “Ah! What a big rat!” Then she shouted again.
Everyone turned to follow the sound, spotting a giant rat escaping from the forest. The creature was completely gray, dragging a long, worm-like tail; it had three peculiar spines on its back, and its head was larger than that of a common house rat, with a wide jaw revealing not only the large incisors typical of rodents but also rows of sharp teeth. It was hiding beneath a nearby rock, clearly startled by its discovery; turning to flee into the bushes. Without thinking, Brendel picked up the longsword by the corpse and threw it; a silver flash, and with a plop, the giant rat was pinned to the ground.
Golan-Elsen’s little lady witnessed this scene, gasping and hurriedly hiding behind Romaine.
“What is that?” QiYala frowned, looking disgusted at the struggling creature on the ground.
“Cave demon rat, the hunting dog of the Shadel troglodytes,” Nemeses explained from behind.
“They use this thing to scout on us?!” Afram exclaimed, his plump body quivering in fright. The chubby duke’s son glanced around uneasily, as if the forest were full of these rats lurking at them: “We haven’t been discovered, have we?”
“But this thing is quite obvious. If it comes near us, I can spot it,” Romaine replied. “Actually, it’s no big deal; don’t worry.”
Everyone looked at the Merchant Miss with expressions of curiosity.
However, her words somewhat reassured everyone. Some were initially unwilling to follow Brendel, but the experiences of the past two days had demonstrated his capabilities. His knowledge of these underground creatures far exceeded anyone else’s, and using his experience and judgment, they finally managed to traverse Valgris without confronting every possible fight. If those Crusian nobles had initially joined Brendel as captives, they now viewed him as a savior.
Over the past days, they had passed through Iron Yew Town, Valgris, and several settlements, witnessing the aftermath left by Jotungrund’s army: villagers turned to gargoyles, imperial soldiers, and heads impaled on the troglodyte’s spears, constantly reminding them of their predicament. No one dared to doubt they were facing a major offensive from the underground world. Even the most stubborn Earl Ji’en had ceased to speak, and their noble gentlemen began to feel anxious; the only one who remained calm was Brendel, their only support.
After all, compared to those fierce monsters, fellow humans appeared much more approachable. The only complaint was that Brendel had conscripted their servants and guards into a reserve unit and confiscated their rations for centralized distribution.
The sudden appearance of the cave demon rat shifted everyone’s focus. Brendel stopped ruminating on the ground dragon incident and informed Nemeses about his doubts. She found it equally perplexing, but neither had any answers, so they moved on without wasting time on it. Clearly, there was no time to bury the bodies, but Brendel ordered Rogers and the others to tidy up the appearances of the two Calonia cavalry riders after death, then placed them in a secluded spot to at least ensure they had some dignity. This act earned the gratitude of the four interior knights, and even the Crusian nobles couldn’t help but feel that the earl from Toniger wasn’t necessarily an impolite man, and the accumulated grievances had been somewhat alleviated.
The group left the lakeside and continued north. Brendel’s goal was to circumvent Brown Bear Lake before nightfall and reach Gravel Town nearby, but realizing that there might be Shadel troglodytes in the vicinity, he slowed the pace. The team slowly advanced through the forest surrounding the lake, discovering several corpses of local imperial soldiers along the way; first was a small squad of walking swordsmen, and then another Calonia cavalry rider, though still no sign of his mount. The forest began showing evidence of intense combat and troglodyte bodies scattered about. They were a kind with purplish-red skin and manes, lying in disarray in the forest, clearly indicating that a Jotungrund army advancing north along Brown Bear Lake had encountered Crusian local troops, leading to a fierce conflict in these woods.
Faint traces of magical bombardment were still in the forest, as a flame lashed through a nearby beech grove, leaving a scorched earth strip a dozen feet wide and hundreds of feet long. The ashes contained melted metal and remnants of other materials. Brendel estimated that at least half a company of imperial soldiers had fallen here, but he was puzzled. This kind of magic resembled the casting chains of a demonic sorcerer; elementalist and law wizards had no similar spells. While standing beside the scorched earth strip, the wild elf lady, Flour, glanced silently with a frown.
“It’s not an elemental spell,” she finally replied.
They crossed the fragmented battlefield, but such scenes became increasingly frequent, making it hard to imagine what had transpired in the forest. Some places looked as if they had been ravaged by demons. However, the countess from Yan Castle in the group was highly sensitive to demonic activity; Brendel had asked her several times, only to receive negative responses. Rogers, Trevor, and Nasha were somewhat silent, and the imperial nobles following behind were also quietly concerned. In their minds, the empire was invincible, but this scene evidently shattered their fragile hope.
At this time, Brendel’s status in their hearts became significantly more vital.
Among everyone, only the young man named Kew murmured to himself, “Why are they attacking Bous? Are they planning to bypass Gravel Town?”
Upon hearing this, Brendel turned to glance at Nemeses, and both gently shook their heads.
When they reached the vicinity of Gravel Town, it was slightly later than expected. The sun was slowly dipping beneath the mountains, yet the valley was still touched by the last remnants of twilight. Brendel and the others stood on a nearby hill, observing the town downstream of Silverflow. The direction of Gravel Town was shrouded in darkness, resembling a shadow in the valley. The crimson light of the sunset infused the sky, as if heralding the arrival of some calamity. No one in the group spoke, as they all understood what had happened. However, there was worse news; Brendel saw a few harpies swirling in the sky. This indicated that there were still garrisoned troops from below within the town.
The faces of the nobles looked grim, for this meant their wish to pass through the Silverflow Valley easily was in vain.
Brendel had anticipated this, carefully leading the others from the hill back into the forest, preparing to discuss their course of action: wait for Jotungrund’s troops to leave or cross by night. Just then, Romaine tapped Brendel’s back with her little hand, whispering, “Brendel, Brendel, look over there, there are a few people.”
Brendel was startled, thinking that Romaine should have said this sooner, but his body reacted quicker than his mind. Almost instinctively, he pulled the Merchant Miss back into the bushes. The others, though unsure of what was happening, followed suit, hiding in their spots. Romaine climbed up from the bushes, spat out some grass leaves, and raised her head, eager to keep looking around. However, Brendel pressed her head down. “Where are they?” Brendel asked as he peered through the bushes.
“There are some short trees down there; a few people are hiding behind them. Do you see, Brendel? They seem to be trying to get to the other side. Ah, one person is coming out! It’s that sneaky guy!” Romaine exclaimed, trying to wriggle free from Brendel’s grasp, but it was evidently futile. Eventually, she answered somewhat dejectedly as Brendel peered in the direction she pointed. He indeed saw a shadow flash by, instantly disappearing beneath a cluster of hazel foliage.
“That’s Walton!” Nasha suddenly whispered when she saw the figure.
“Who is Walton?” Brendel immediately turned to the Crusian knight beside him.
“He is Sir Cooper’s guard captain. I’ve seen him before; he’s a swordsman from Ludwig,” Nasha replied somewhat distrustfully, glancing at him before hesitating a moment.
Brendel turned to Rogers, who promptly explained, “Nasha has a special talent; everyone she meets is unforgettable. If she recognizes him, there’s no doubt about it.”
“Why are they here?” Trevor asked, puzzled. “I thought they would have been taken out by the troops north of Leafwood Avenue, just like the Moore family.”
…
