TL: Reminder that there will only be one TAS chapter this week. Next week’s update depends on how much progress I make on the group project, otherwise it will also be 1 TAS chapter.
TL: There probably won’t be too many cliffhanger chapters but more chapters of Brendel vs n.o.bles politics, I think. He’s a fake n.o.ble after all, I’m intrigued to see how’s he going to get a land out from nowhere, lol.
Anyway, thanks for the community help for Engrish checks again (Cough)
Chapter 33 – The Red Bronze Dragon, Leto
After the three of them left Tulman’s home in the Forest of Needles, Batum finally could not hold back his curiosity and asked Brendel timidly: “My lord, do your elders know that Lord Wizard?”
The youth glanced at him and gave a smile, but he did not reply.
Batum looked at him in confusion, not knowing what Brendel meant by his smile. Even though this knight had led them to carve out a blood road from the Madara undead army which him incredibly impressed, he felt that Brendel did not act like a proper n.o.ble from the interactions he had with him every day.
Despite the fact that the youth had said he would inherit a land, Batum did not truly believe in his words fully, feeling that n.o.bles tend to exaggerate what they had. Still, he decided to follow him because he still believed in the youth’s capabilities.
But after witnessing the interactions between the elderly wizard and the youth, he firmly believed in him now.
[This young knight must have a powerful background, one that is unique amongst the influential families. Normal n.o.bles would not have anything to do with these wizards of high authority, and their lineage might not even need to lower themselves even before the king.]
Batum scratched his head as he looked at Brendel who was in front.
The third morning, Brendel and his group finally reached Bruglas—
Bruglas could be seen as the heart of Grinoires’s southern area. The city was built along the slopes of Grey Eagle Hills along the eastern side of the Pine River, and buildings were distributed on the upper and lower hills.
The city was surrounded by concentric white walls, with each wall higher than the first, and rural villagers sometimes called Bruglas as the White City.
Under a clear sky, travellers from Ankries and Dragos were able to see the shining rooftops decorating the streets lined along the hill.
It was certainly a breathtaking sight, and represented a prosperous civilization.
While it was not considered a large city, there were thirty-five thousand people tightly packed in it, and probably the most densely populated areas in the Grinoires area.
The city also had many facilities and workshop situated in the Black Pine Avenue, where constant carriages and mules carrying heavy goods pa.s.sing by all the time. Travelers from other cities could be seen haggling from the merchants as well.
Freya and Romaine were greatly surprised by the tall walls and clean streets as they came here for the first time. The bustling area had surpa.s.sed what they had seen in Ankries and Fortress Riedon. Even Brendel was amazed by the grandeur of the city when he saw it in the first time in the game.
Everyone became excited when they pa.s.sed through the streets, but Freya and Romaine quickly stopped before the jewelry shops. The shining and intricate things that Bruglas made were exceptional, and they quickly caught the girls’ attention.
Freya looked enviously at a crescent brooch, while Romaine was attracted to a silver casket. Brendel could not hold back his laughter when he saw them hugging the items tightly.
The youth gestured to Batum and both of them made their way quietly to the owner and asked the prices, and ultimately paid a few hundred Tor to purchase the items. Romaine easily accepted the gift with surprised delight with a happy gaze, while Freya lowered her head with a blush and thought for a long time before accepting it, then quietly thanked him.
Brendel was not surprised at Freya’s struggle to accept it, but when he looked back, he saw Batum giving a thumbs up stealthily. He paused before a while before laughing.
[This red beard guy is really thinking too much… I just don’t want to see both of the girls disappointed if they didn’t get any souvenirs from the city.]
After this slight detour, they finally made their way to their destination.
The headquarters of the Silver Winged Cavalry —
Before they actually made their way into the place, they saw the little brat Fenix.
[Hmm, looks like this kid had a pretty good time from the time we saw him. He actually looks fatter.]
Little Fenix rubbed his eyes when he saw the three of them.
“Sister Boss, Brendel, Freya! Heavens, I’m not dreaming right!”
The teenager yelled and jumped down from one of the boulders in front of the headquarters and looked at them in wonder. Freya almost subconsciously scolded him when she saw the rowdy boy, but changed her words at the end.
“Little Fenix, where’s everyone?”
“Everyone’s still around, we’re fine, Sister Boss!” Then he looked at Brendel with great admiration: “Brother Brendel, everyone knows about the news where you rescued the refugees out of Fortress Riedon. Some of them went to Dragos and then to Bruglas, so the stories about your exploits have spread around. Did you really fight along side with the super amazing ‘Red Bronze Dragon’, Leto?”
“‘Red Bronze Dragon’, Leto?” Brendel was slightly surprised that Leto got a nickname like that, even though he had a part in it.
“Brat, what do you really know about amazing?” Batum knew that these rumors were actually Brendel’s instructions amongst the refugees. He did not know why the youth did not want to take this glory, but he still wanted to interrupt Fenix.
“Of course I do. Isn’t it super amazing that a single man leading a few hundred men was able to escape the undead siege comprised of tens of thousands of undead?” Fenix nodded with much sense in his words: “‘Red Bronze Dragon’, Leto, I have also heard that he’s a veteran in the November’s War, like captain Marden. Of course he’s amazing! Ah, right, who are you, mister?”
Batum nearly choked himself, but when he wanted to reply, little Fenix’s eyes suddenly shone and he yelled loudly: “Are you the Red Beard Batum!”
“Huh, brat, do you know me?” Batum was confused.
“Of course I do. I think very few people in Bruglas do not know your name. There are rumors about the Red Beard Batum who makes the undead quiver in their boots everywhere in the street! If you don’t believe me, just ask the Ser Knights in the headquarters, even they know about you!”
“Making the undead quiver in their boots, this description isn’t bad at all.” Everyone loved praises, and Batum was no exception. But just when he laughed with pride, he suddenly remembered the youth who created this miracle was just beside him. He quickly stashed away his laugh and snorted. “Hmph, a bunch of morons.”
Little Fenix was baffled by his response, but as a young teenager, he thought that many skilled people had odd temperaments and did not mind Batum’s reaction. He looked at Brendel and asked: “Brother Brendel, you must be an important member amongst the mercenaries since you’re so amazing right?”
Brendel laughed and ruffled the kid’s hair while nodding.
“Tch, I knew it. All the other brats in the street don’t believe what I told them about you.”
Freya listened to the talk in great perplexment. She looked at Brendel and called him a great liar in her heart, but once she thought about Brendel’s invincible charge against the numerous undead forces, she felt her heart racing and turned her head away.
Romaine merely smiled at one side, and no one knew what she was thinking.
While they conversed amongst themselves, the news of ‘Heroes of Fortress Riedon’ returning to Bruglas had already spread in the headquarters. The citizens in the city loved to watch events like this, so the street was quickly filled with people. There were even a few young men from the Silver Winged Cavalry that came out in twos and threes to look at the person who managed to fight their way out from Madara’s undead.
The Silver Winged Cavalry was the formal troops of the White-mane army, and part of them had fought against the Madara’s undead troops and they knew how difficult they could be. Most of them were unwillingly to believe these ridiculous rumors, but there were reports from both the refugees and the soldiers from Fortress Riedon that confirmed the rumors, and the commander of the Silver Winged Cavalry, Lord Xelnal, found there might be truth in the rumors.
There were still thousands of refugees nearby Bruglas that did not leave yet, although no one seemed to have seen the ‘Red Bronze Dragon’, Leto before.
The lower ranked and upper ranked officers saw things differently. The lower ranked officers started to look up to the legendary figure, while the upper echelons wanted to know what was going on.
“Fenix, are these the mercenaries from Fortress Riedon?”
A few boys the age of Fenix wormed out from the crowd and asked Little Fenix.
“Of course, this is my Sister Boss, Brother Brendel, and this is……” Little Fenix pointed at Batum and paused.
“He can’t be the ‘Red Beard Batum’?!”
The expressions on the boys changed immediately. The striking red beard on Batum was too easy to recognize.
“Hehe, at least you’re not stupid.” Little Fenix’s tail could be seen wagging furiously. He knew that Brendel was impressive, but he did not think he would be linked to legendary people in the rumors. Even though he had exaggerated some of the details and no one believed in him, he finally got revenge when he saw their shocked expressions.
While the boys were in admiration, Brendel felt the gazes of ill intentions from some of the soldiers within the Silver Winged Cavalry. He was not surprised at that, and had instructed them the refugees to spread a different rumor in order to escape attention. He was still too weak and not suited to be placed within the tempest that was to come.
At first Batum was his main choice to be his shield, but he also needed someone familiar with Aouine, so Leto was the best choice. However, it seemed that the army was still unhappy and jealous over the events.
[The game itself had troubling cases of jealousy and pride, not to mention reality itself…]
He sighed inwardly.