Chapter 986: Act 159 – The War Tablet: Dragon Skin V
The gray fragments of the Law dissipated like withering flower petals behind Brendel. He glanced at Bai, who lay unconscious on the ground, and silently sheathed the Earth Sword. Another battle had also come to an end, as Andrigraphis and Medephis each pointed their pitch-black slender swords at the location where the soul flame burned intensely within the hollow chest of the Death Moon Knight, standing one on the left and one on the right—though the former was far stronger than either Andrigraphis or Medephis individually, they were no match for the combined efforts of the two, especially with Himelam standing by, wielding the Staff of Mountains.
Brendel turned to walk towards the Death Moon Knight—he knew that Bai would soon awaken. Undead do not truly fall into unconsciousness; Bai’s current state was merely a temporary death due to the weakness of her soul flame, and this state would not last long—she would either recover swiftly or perish entirely. He had dealt with this Madalar Black Knight more than once and knew well how troublesome she was. The long-winded things she said earlier were clearly to attract his attention; he had played along, doubting whether he believed a single one of them. However, it was at least clear that Bai was likely a Silver Elf and was familiar with Medisa.
Although Medisa had mentioned that this woman had once used mind-reading on her, mind-reading could only access surface thoughts, and deep memories were impossible to steal; that was the realm of deities.
As for whether she was truly the grand princess of the Silver Elf Empire, that remained to be proven.
After all, this woman was very skilled in misleading and swaying people, leading them into anger or confusion before taking action. She particularly enjoyed using mind-related spells, and her alias beyond that of the Black Knight—‘The Just Arbiter’—spoke volumes about that. The Just Arbiter, whether just or not was up for debate, but she claimed to be an arbiter, interrogating the inner evils of people, shaking their unsteady beliefs, and adeptly exploiting human frailties.
He had to extricate something useful from that Death Moon Knight as soon as possible; otherwise, he would get nowhere before this woman, unless he was prepared to separate them for questioning, which simply wasn’t feasible here given the conditions and time.
Roslin’s undead remained unmoving in the hall, like a statue.
Brendel approached the Death Moon Knight and soon discovered that she was an old acquaintance— the Corrupt Knight Crote, one of the Three Decayed Knights. He had first encountered her during the First and Second Black Rose Wars when she and her skeleton knights invaded Erluin, dying under Freya’s sword at the end of the Second War. He had once taken a task regarding this figure during the middle of that war, but at that time, she was surrounded by a large army, so their encounter was merely superficial. Crote was a dark noble of the Sea of Death Moon, coming from a mercenary background; unlike Cabais, she was a relatively capable undead lord. However, she was not a staunch loyalist of the undead monarch wielding the Mercury Staff; at most, she could be considered a minor noble.
He thought it over and had a moment of clarity; he had dealt with many undead lords from Madalar.
Thinking this, he turned to look back, glancing at the several skeletal remains on the ground, and indeed recognized all of them:
Gray Staff Talassa, commander of the Gritstone Grey Fortress, with many Necromancers under her command, skilled in Blood Rain and politically a pawn.
Bone Eye Keren, lord of the Withered Wood, leading a pale hunter army specializing in undead cavalry tactics, renowned in Troly as a—
Bacon,—
All were—
Despite having died once long ago, the Corrupt Knight Crote was still very much afraid of death, or in undead terms, afraid of the ‘true eternal slumber’; in other words, she was not particularly tight-lipped. A slight threat from Brendel made her reveal the truth: Tiamas—Tiamas Juyue, or Bai Tiamas Juyue, was the true name of the Black Knight Bai. This name sounded distinctly elvish. In the past, players speculated that she might have been a Wind Elf or a Wild Elf in her previous life, but they never thought she would be a Silver Elf because the era differences were simply too significant—she had indeed lied. Their purpose for coming here was not for Roslin’s undead but rather for the War Tablet.
However, it was not easy for the undead to enter human territory, especially under the current circumstances, without alerting the military while crossing several lines of defense. According to Crote, they had set out from the Eternal Gloom Harbor by boat, landed at Silver Sand Bay, and immediately had humans arranging their itinerary. They reached the Clover Wilds in a carriage, and along the way, there were people coordinating for them.
Brendel immediately guessed these people were from the Cruz Empire. In fact, from Crote’s description, they were from the White Legion, or more specifically, from a high-level knight order within the White Legion: the White Legion had three directly subordinate knight orders, the Gray Wing Knights who ride gray lion griffins, the White Dragon Knights who ride earth dragons, and the Silver Pegasus Knights. The ones receiving these undead were likely from the White Dragon Knights, as Crote had previously seen the emblem under the capes of those humans, which was a white dragon head emblem, typical of the White Dragon Knights.
Although the possibility of framing someone existed, it was minimal; after all, the Cruz people would not know that Crote and her group would end up in his hands.
The White Legion was the staunchest supporter of Constance, and historically, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were also the most loyal advocates of the Mercury Staff and the reformists. This meant the undead’s entry into the empire to acquire the War Tablet was likely sanctioned by both Constance and that dark monarch, filling Brendel with the pervasive scent of conspiracy.
He looked at Bai Jia, who was quietly listening beside him, and saw the same expression reflected in her eyes.
That monarch wielding the Mercury Staff’s prior knowledge of the existence of the War Tablet was not surprising; she was, after all, the emperor who only appeared once every thousand years in that world. The Mercury Staff in her hand possessed the supreme ability to prophesy the future; through certain future fragments foretold by her Mercury Staff, she might have foreseen the day the War Tablet would come to pass. As for the Silver Queen, as a dark dragon possessing most of Odin’s legacy in this era, it was not strange for her to have knowledge of the War Tablet through some ancient knowledge and inheritance mentioned in the Black Prophecy.
What was strange was how these two had come together. Historically, moments when nations and factions turned enemies into allies revolved around shared interests or enemies. The Queen’s enemies, apart from those she identified as the Dusk Army and monstrosities, seemed to amount to no one but himself. However, Brendel did not believe he was worth uniting two empires against.
Thus, the remaining factor was profit.
The interests of Madalar were evident; obtaining the tablet from the empire could yield them infinite benefits. However, what could the Silver Queen gain from this? Inviting wolves into the house? Just to earn Madalar’s support? That seemed unnecessary, not to mention Madalar itself currently somewhat lacked legitimacy, and outside of a few from the Temple of Fire, the Four Great Temples had not raised any objections to Constance’s actions; she did not need to make things difficult for herself by getting involved with these skeletal figures.
Brendel firmly believed that if something appeared absurd and illogical on the surface, yet it still existed, then the underlying truth must be hidden from sight.
Suddenly, a horrifying possibility struck him.
Historically, the empire had once condoned, even encouraged, Madalar to attack Saint Ausoor and Erluin. Would such a thing be repeated today? Although that event occurred at the end of the First Era, given how early the Great Demon Tide had already changed, Queen Constance was behaving unpredictably enough that it would not be unreasonable for that event to occur prematurely as well.
“Why are you looking for this thing?” Brendel suddenly asked, pointing at the floating tip of the War Tablet amidst the rubble.
As expected, the undead knight showed a bewildered expression; the soul flame flickering in its eye sockets revealed nothing, and Crote clearly knew nothing of it. This was not surprising to Brendel; the War Tablet had only descended into this world about half a month ago, and the fragments of rules had appeared just a day prior. These undead did not know what it was; they had likely been told the appearance of this object by the one wielding the Mercury Staff, and thus they came to retrieve it.
The public was well aware of the Mercury Staff’s power, so even such requests would not raise any suspicions. The undead had long been accustomed to their monarch being ahead of the game.
“Are you thinking of the War of 422?” Bai Jia suddenly asked in a low voice.
Brendel nodded in response. Heroes see alike; the War of 422 occurred before the Battle of the Feathered Forest. In that year, the empire and Madalar’s envoy signed a secret agreement, which effectively served to draw disaster away, in which the empire would not reinforce behind the Cedar region and would even withdraw troops—in effect, allowing Madalar to attack Erluin and Saint Ausoor. Shortly thereafter, Madalar reached its peak, heralding the doom of Erluin, and the Wind Elves of Saint Ausoor were severely weakened in that war, which eventually led to the Battle of Arkaz.
He could not believe how eerily similar history was. Although the emperor of the empire was no longer the taciturn Rainwright, Constance had unexpectedly made a strikingly similar decision. At that moment, Brendel could not help but think they truly were a pair of mother and son.
However, Brendel still could not understand why Constance would allow the undead to deep into the Mez region to seize the tablet. What profound meaning was behind her actions? The empire’s territory was vast; there was no shortage of rule fragments and war tablets across the land. Why specifically Fatan Port? Was it requested by that individual wielding the Mercury Staff, or was it a plan of the Queen herself? Could that woman foresee his arrival in this place? It seemed far too unsettling.
A somewhat weak voice interrupted his thoughts: “Do you remember what I once told you, human lord?”
Brendel turned back abruptly, finding Bai had already woken up, earlier than he had imagined. The metal mask on the Black Knight’s face had long been shattered in the impact, revealing her beautiful half-face. Her silver hair proved her pure Silver Elf heritage, but her eyes no longer held the stunning silver gemstone brilliance of Medisa; instead, they were replaced by eyes that flickered with golden flames.
However, these eyes had already lost their prior lively glimmer meant to deceive him, reverting back to their indifferent and resentful expression, while her voice no longer held inflection, filled with a hollow metallic echo, making it hard to tell it was a woman speaking.
In fact, this was the Bai Brendel was familiar with. Tiamas Juyue’s origin was a mystery in Madalar; she first appeared around one hundred and fifty years ago (the earliest documented sighting, perhaps earlier but unknown). No one knew where she came from or why she appeared in Madalar; when she did appear, she was already a formidable undead lord.
By the time players became familiar with this undead lord, she had already acquired the accursed blood of the Bone Dragon Orkhin and was conferred by the Mercury Staff as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Historically, Bai made her appearance draped in a heavy robe each time, although the style and patterns might change, it often bore emblems of crosses and scales—unless she sought to hide her identity. Yet in any case, she always donned her iconic feature—a half-smiling, half-crying metallic mask.
Players—even those from Madalar—had never laid eyes on this knight’s true form and could not decipher her gender—though that made little difference to the undead—but players were intrigued to guess, and based on her name, they leaned toward the latter assumption.
As reality proved—
Brendel listened to the Black Knight’s words and retorted: “This isn’t our first dealings, Miss Tiamas Juyue; you’ve spoken to me more than once. I’m curious about which one you mean.”
“Forebear—”
“You are a Forebear, a human; we both understand this deeply,” she replied.
“What is a Forebear?” Brendel frowned; this was indeed the second time she had mentioned this term, and it pointed toward him. Yet he was baffled; his origins were clear, as were those of his grandfather. The Sword Saint Darus was renowned, but tracing back through his lineage led to merely ordinary Erluin people.
“You understand us beyond the confines of human knowledge, just as you know my true name, understand my origin. Even though I didn’t disclose this when we first met, I know you already know everything. Two months ago, I was secretly conferred at the Death Moon Sanctuary; this secret has never escaped Madalar, yet you knew it. I believe you even understand why I was conferred, knowing my power comes from the Spider Matriarch Selene—”
“Spider Matriarch Selene? Isn’t your power derived from the Bone Dragon…” Brendel paused, suddenly realizing he might have touched a nerve. He indeed saw a cold smile appear on her face, and she mouthed the words:
‘The dark ruler shall return, it perceives the human heart, clarifying all things—’
“Stop your manipulations of the heart,” Bai Jia coldly interrupted, “I will kill you at any moment if you try to do so again.”
Brendel patted Bai Jia’s hand, stopping her from continuing as he gave an expression of realization, responding: “So you’re saying what Medisa told me was just to deceive me?”
This time Bai did not answer.
But Brendel did not mind, continuing to question: “Do you still believe I am the Dark Dragon? But times have changed, and others may not think the same now. There is someone in the empire who deserves this title more than I do, is there not?”
“Darkness must be born from the inhuman realm; honorable peoples fade from the flames.”
This phrase was a direct quote from the Black Prophecy.
Bai Jia shook her head: “A being with a mind perpetually fixed at fifteen can still be counted as human? Only as a human can one be non-human. The Silver Queen Constance clearly embodies this; she witnessed certain secrets upon the final battlefield, inheriting the power and will of the Dark Dragon. With these powers, she has long since become an inhuman existence.”
“No progress,” Bai responded, “Mortal wisdom is eternally limited to this; I never claimed you were the Dark Dragon; that merely was Medisa’s presumptuous misunderstanding.”
Brendel had lost interest in hearing her cryptic statements any longer; he asked, “What exactly is your relationship with Medisa?”
“I have no connection to that wretch.” This time Bai replied coldly.
Hearing this, Brendel was momentarily taken aback before looking at her with irritation. Upon hearing this, he confirmed his earlier suspicion: this woman was indeed Medisa’s sister—just as Medisa had described in that dream. He turned away from her, no longer wishing to look at her. He had gathered sufficient information and turned to Crote: “Crote, as I understand it, you aren’t among the closest subjects. Why were you assigned to carry out this task?”
This was a euphemistic way to put it; in fact, it was not merely that they were not close; let’s just say they were compelled to submit to the power of the Mercury Staff, so-called nobles. These old nobles were among the least favored in this emerging empire, and a mission of such significance as representing the Cruz Empire would never fall to their lot.
In fact, Crote herself seemed oblivious to this fact, as she cast a fearful glance at Bai and remained unwilling to answer.
From that simple glance, Brendel and Bai Jia had already grasped what they wanted.
“If I’m not mistaken, it was she who requested permission for you several to join, wasn’t it?” Brendel asked.
Crote’s flickering soul flame was clearly filled with astonishment.
Brendel thought to himself that it was just as he suspected: this woman had brought along several underlings who were all mere pawns, while she herself was the most loyal knight of the one wielding the Mercury Staff. To think there could be no trickery within, it seemed far too coincidental. Generally speaking, individuals of similar type tend to congregate; were he to carry out this task, he would certainly have chosen a few like-minded trusted helpers; alternatively, it could merely be those chosen by the dark being, yet Bai evidently had no say in the matter. But that was unlikely; why would that individual offend his most reliable subordinates for the sake of a few pawns? It clearly did not make sense.
Upon his inquiry, he discovered the unusual nature of the situation.
Why did Bai choose several pawns devoid of loyalty to the Mercury Staff as her teammates? Others might think she sought to cultivate her trusted aides and forms alliances, but Brendel was very familiar with this woman; her life, apart from those dull-witted skeletons, had always been solitary, entirely devoid of any faction.
Though this world had already changed, Brendel had yet to meet a historical figure whose personality had drastically altered due to shifts in the threads of future fate.
He believed Bai would not be an exception.
He wanted to ask something further, but the Black Knight lady had already angrily interrupted him: “Stop asking. You want to know something, human lord? Let’s make a deal.”
Indeed, there was something amiss. Brendel couldn’t help but give a deep look at Roslin’s undead standing silently to the side. This towering skeletal knight remained completely immobile, like a statue.
