The Amber Sword

[The Madara general’s soldiers. A Crusader Executioner.]

Brendel felt his skin go numb, like he had been drenched in cold water. It felt like his heart and blood vessels had ice in them, and the idea of fishing in troubled waters was already gone.

He immediately put up his arm without hesitation and roared.

“Back, get back, leave here right now and follow me!” His voice was unusually stern, and even when he face the undead army, he had not acted so nervous before.

[Fuck! What the fuck is Bruglas’s army doing. If this thing is even here, why the fuck don’t they just open the damned city doors and surrender?!]

The Crusader Executioner was a Nest creature. It was not a normal undead that could be controlled by a necromancer, and it was a creature that had a physical soul, like a Blood Marionette or a Black Knight.

A high tier undead with the prowess of a Silver-ranked tier fighter.

Brendel saw that the Crusader Executioner had not regained its senses from descending onto the ground, and he immediately got the rest of them to run in the left direction. There was a small door leading to the back passageway.

Batum’s reaction was very fast. He had been in enough battles to feel that despairing aura from the giant skeleton. It was full of bloodlust and he knew that this undead creature that was covered in fiery red armor and carried an enormous axe was something that he should not go against with.

They quickly made their way below, but as the undead finally got up, it found they were the nearest.

Brendel pushed Amandina and Romaine through the door. Ciel and Batum went next. When he looked back, he saw that the monstrous creature had locked them as targets with a pair of crimson fire in its eye sockets. It raised its axe and walked unsteadily towards them on the stage.

“Brendel?” Romaine did not understand.

“Stop talking and listen to me.” Brendel entered the passageway and locked the door. He did not know if the organizers had planned for attacks, but the door was completely made up of metal and was considerably thick. It was probably able to buy them time.

“How powerful is that monster? What should we do?” Batum asked.

Brendel raised his palm up.

“Let me think for a moment. I might have a solution.” He said.

He calmly ordered the Wind Spider Spirits to crawl out of the crevices from the passageway, and he roughly made a script in his mind, but he hesitated as he felt the plan might be too dangerous. He hoped that the creature went for someone else, since the hall had so many other people.

But before he finished hoping, the steel door suddenly shook like a battering ram had collided into it. The feedback from the door actually made the ground unstable and they lurched forward. Batum and Ciel went to reinforce the door. Brendel, who had stumbled onto the ground, stood up and gave up on all the optimistic notions.

He steeled his heart.

“There’s only one plan. All of you run and leave in separate directions. I’ll stay behind and hold him back.”

“Brendel!” This was the second time Romaine saw the youth with an uncertain expression. The adventurous streak in her heart was suddenly smothered, and she recalled that time when Brendel rescued her in Bucce.

She wanted to stay behind, but the youth refused to hear it.

[A Crusader Executioner has 47 OZ worth of strength. It’s not something that Batum and Ciel can handle right now. Letting them fight with this monster would only get them killed instantly. Ciel is somewhat of an exception since it’s only for a while that I can’t summon him if he gets killed, but the rest of my members cannot come back if they die.]

He had already thought about it clearly. He was the only one who knew the monster’s actions well enough to be able to draw it away and find an opportunity to escape. Even so, he had no confidence in handling this monster at all, as it was stronger than Ebdon and he did not have a second Gargoyle to use. In fact, if he faced against Ebdon one more time alone, he was unlikely to defeat him.

Brendel had actually considered having Batum or Roen, and even Amandina to buy some time for the others to escape, but he immediately shut the idea down with shivers. This thought made him frightened.

[If I allow this fucking thought to become reality, and give up on anyone, then some day I will give up on Freya, Romaine, and Aouine. I will become nothing more than a cold blooded creature in this world.]

Brendel shook his head to throw the idea out of his head. This stray thought had darkened his mood, and he felt like he had fought for days. He growled in a low voice.

“All of you, leave. Separate in two different groups and we will regroup later. I will stay back and secure your retreat.”

“My lord, we cannot leave you behind!” Batum transited from a mercenary to a retainer without him knowing.

“My lord, this is the vanguard of the Madara’s undead forces. You’re not its match, please allow me to buy you sometime.” Ciel placed his hand on his chest and answered solemnly.

“You know of it?” Brendel looked at him in surprise.

“Brendel,” Amandina said sternly. “We don’t need you to act as a hero right now. I placed my dreams on you and I hope that you remember your promises to me!”

“What the hell are you talking about, Amandina.” Batum grabbed the girl’s shoulders angrily.

The second impact came again, and the three men felt the terrible strength behind the door.

Brendel knew that there was not much time left, and he spoke in an angry voice.

“When did a woman have the authority to interfere with a man’s battle, Batum, take her away.”

“Ser Brendel, you—” Amandina looked confused, but she took a deep breath as she realized what Brendel intended to do here. She stopped her actions and looked at him with a conflicted expression. (TL: Yeah, you see, maybe I’m a little slow, but I don’t know what the heck is going on. What did Amandina understand again?)

“Brendel, what about me?” Romaine asked.

“You’re not a woman?” Brendel asked in exasperation.

“Oh.” Romaine replied in a disappointed voice.

Since it was an order, Batum did not have any grounds to object. He could only nod and bring Amandina and Romaine away.

Most of the auction sites had a passageway that allowed goods to be transferred away if there was an inspection, and Brendel entered into one of them.

[If I dared to say something like ‘Women should not participate in battles!’ in the game, my female senior leader would have beaten me up... She really taught me well. In the end I became a pretty good leader, but most of the gamers that I know eventually left when Aouine was on its final breath. In the end, I was the only one behind in Aouine’s last battle.]

This moment now was the same scenario.

Brendel might have Freya, Romaine as his close friends, Batum and Leto and the other mercenaries as his retainers, and a brilliant Amandina as an advisor, but his heart still felt like he was alone in this world. He did not speak to anyone about the future of Aouine, or that he was not from this world —

He looked back at Ciel.

“My lord, you know of my true identity. In a certain way, your safety is more important than my life. Even if I disappear, as long as you are still alive, I would have the chance to appear once again. But if you die, then everything ceases.”

“You have persuaded me,” Brendel nodded: “If that’s the case, let’s fight together.”

The metal door finally split apart and the crimson axe could be seen. Brendel beckoned to Ciel.

“Quickly, let’s get to the other side.”

Brendel glanced behind him as he ran to the other door. The Crimson Executioner swung once more and finally broke through the door. It lowered its body to enter the room and surveyed the passageway. A white beam of light hit the helmet, and the frightening monster turned its head around. It immediately spotted Brendel and Ciel. The squire was still maintaining a gesture.

“Over here, you mindless undead!” Brendel taunted.

The skeleton gave a ghastly roar and ran over, with its body standing straight up. The wooden ceiling broke apart like it was made of paper. The monster had 22 OZ worth of agility, and though it might look clumsy, it was actually very quick. Its movements were accompanied with skeleton clacks, and the huge body was already in front of Brendel.

Brendel pulled Ciel out into an open room, but the Crusader Executioner was already in motion for an attack. The door to the room was easily destroyed, and it entered the room with rocks and granite accompanying its feet. It quickly discovered Brendel and Ciel moving to a passageway that led to the auction site.

Brendel was not as tense as the time when he escaped from Bucce. Even though he knew that Ciel and himself were not able to do any damage to this high level undead, he was not without a chance. There were two routes that he could take. He could wait until the Silver-winged cavalry to come, and even if the commander was a traitor that worked for the Unifying Guild, he was not allies with Madara. The commander was also strong enough to handle this monster as he was a Gold-ranked fighter.

[Even the captains of the various divisions are of the same strength as the undead here, so there should be no problems of defeating this monster. But lasting that long is a question. The next thing I know I might have my head chopped off... The second option is the best.]

He needed to find the ‘Scroll of Elemental Pool (unlock)’