The Amber Sword
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chapter-723
Chapter 723 v4c99p2
Two Dragons?(2)
“Originally, for your arrogance, I should have gouged out your eyes and eaten your heart, to warn other humble creatures to maintain the necessary respect for a Dragon. But you are lucky, I do not want to lay my claws on your dirty body, so this time I will spare your life. You better not appear in front of me again, or I do not guarantee a mouthful of fire to burn you to ashes-”
A majestic voice rang at the ears of all, completely different from Aloz’s tender and childish voice. Her voice now was as if it was of a queen, with a vague sense of the little female Dragon’s original vibe. She was on the ground as she spoke these words, but in the end, she opened her wings and leaped up, hovering in mid-air. The sound rumbled through the wild.
All the warhorses fell to their knees at the same time.“Brendel, you owe me another favor.” These words came from the clouds.
Brendel looked up, only to see a shadow sweeping across the snowy plains, covering the sky. Aloz opened her wings and a terrifying aura spread far beyond the entire glacier.
It was the aura of a giant Dragon.
……
With a click, Arreck watched as a crack appeared on the crystal in his mages’ hand. Pieces broke off and it turned into dust in a blink of an eye. In not even two weeks, this Duke had tremendous changes. He was not glowing with aura anymore, but instead, he hid under a fur cape, leaving the outsiders with an impression of a thin and wretched side profile.
Arreck was so thin that he looked like a skeleton, his face was covered with crumpled skin, and his eyes remained motionless in their dry sockets, staring at the crystal with barely a glimmer in them.
“My Lord.” The mage looked back at him with a questioning look.“This is the Dragon’s power, that stupid Dragon has taken action.” Arreck grabbed his cane and said with some fervor, “Let’s go, I know that old woman Veronica is following us, let them follow us in more circles. Bunch of fools.”
“Your body, my lord.”
“Shut up.” Arreck coldly glared at Devard. Although he was increasingly thin, but the majesty and aura were becoming increasingly prominent.
Devard shivered and shut his mouth.
“I am not one of those mortals, to get the power, sacrifice is inevitable. Remember our goal, chaos is the only thing that matters, everything else is a liability.” Arreck replied coldly, “The pursuit of weakness for feelings, the ignorant grasping for money and power, and the empty delusion of justice, mortals pursue these worthless things, how can they overcome us?”
“Come, the master defeated them at Babel, and so do we now.” He coughed, then slowly stood up.
In the forest, knights in black robes stood up and followed. These knights looked extremely strange, they were far taller than the average person and looked somewhat like the orcs of thePlains. But orcs do not build armor, and their intelligence was only enough for them to use simple weapons.
Even more striking was the fact that each knight had a mark of an armillary snake on their cloaks.
……
“Freya?”
“Freya?”
The young girl from Bucce countryside wandered a bit, recalling the scene when Brendel stood in the tent and asked her the question seriously: ‘Freya, how will you see the war? The last time Brendel was so serious was when Braggs told her how she should save the Bucce.
How should I feel about the war? Freya asked herself, she should hate the war as it took away everything she was supposed to have, her peaceful life, her family, her homeland, everything she once knew was lost in the burning flames, looking back on that memory, there seemed to be only deep pain left.
”But Aouine can only be saved through wars, and in those wars, you will become the murderers of those you once hated.”
”Freya, you have more enemies than just Madara, and you should understand that. You will kill, and more people will die in the battle, or lose their homes and loved ones, and if you were just a soldier, you could leave it alone.”
”But I know exactly what your ideals are, Freya, do you know your goals?”
Freya gripped her sword.
In a trance, she saw blood flowing everywhere, and the battlefield was nothing but an endless stream of corpses, and among these corpses was Bessie’s pure, innocent face, who looked at her with vacant eyes, as if questioning her.
Then she saw the little girl who had died in the hands of the demons.
Then there were her people in Bucce.
Freya felt like there was a missing answer. She closed her eyes, then opened them again, and her voice and five senses seemed to come together again. It was then she only realized Maynild had been calling her a few times.
“Freya.”
“Yes?” The future Valkyrie turned back to her.
“Why were you staring into the blank?” Maynild was a bit displeased. “I don’t know……” Freya shook her head in a blur, “I think I saw a blue shadow and then……then I don’t know what happened.”
from?” Maynild was a bit displeased. “I don’t know ……,” Freya shook her head blankly, “I think I just saw a blue shadow and then …… then I don’t know what happened.”
“A blue shadow?” Maynild reached out and touched her forehead, “Have you been too tired lately?”
“No…… I don’t think so, what time is it?” She asked, looking up.
“See for yourself.” Maynild handed her the pocket watch. Freya glanced at it and then at the line of Enkhor Halflingsin the distance, “Has there been any word from Brendel?”
“He has confirmed with Medissa that it is who we are looking for.”
“Then……”
“Miss Aloz is already on her way.”
“I see.”
Freya threw her pocket watch into the snow. Brendel asked her how she planned to fight to complete the plan, and she knew in her mind that she had to leave no one alive to make that old fox Arreck fall into the trap. She pulled out part of the Lionheart Sword and pressed the cold blade with her fingertips, feeling a chill in her heart, she was no longer the little girl who did not understand the difference between a knight and a soldier.
Although she did not have a clear answer in her mind yet, she had understood that killing cannot bring peace, but at least it could solve disputes. So her answer was simple, just one sentence: “I understand, Brendel.” She looked at Brendel then with no hesitation in her eyes, for the last trace of her hesitation had long been buried with Bessie in Ampere Seale’s port.
She pulled out the Lionheart sword entirely, the blade glinting coldly. Everyone saw the action of this temporary ‘commander’ before they reacted and one by one, they followed and stood up. The knights untied their cloaks and threw them to the ground. Next, the noble officers of Kirrlutz had their eyes on Freya, while Freya glanced at the sword in her hand, pointed downward with it, and ordered: “Descend from both sides of the hill, do not enter the opponent’s view, and listen to my order to cut off the retreat route of the Enkhor Halflingson the snowy plains. No one is allowed to go into battle until they see the signal.”
The Kirrlutzians flinched, and the air felt like falling snow, getting heavier as it fell in silence.
“Wait, that doesn’t match our orders.” Brund immediately questioned, “Are you planning to hold the fort, Lord Commander, if you let those Halfling cavalry enter the Holy Cathedral of the Hibernators, you will attract that damned thief. Lord Commander, please allow me to doubt your motives.”
“I can understand your doubts.” Freya glanced at Maynild beside herself as she calmed her breathing in her mind and replied, “But the main attack is not us.”
“It’s not us?”
“Then who could it be?”
Freya lifted her head to look at the sky. Her gaze crossed the crystal-like treetops of the pine forest, and the quiet Kirrlutzian officer noticed this behavior of hers and lifted his head along with her. The clouds in the sky seemed to have a strange movement, the forest that was filled with all kinds of sound went silent at that moment, as if it was strangled by an invisible hand. The clouds converged together then suddenly parted, and a huge shadow emerged out of the clouds.
Brund’s jaw dropped as he stared at the scene. The knights of the Kirrlutz stood in the forest as if their feet were stuck to the ground like stone statues. Their thoughts were like a tsunami. This was not an illusion, the Dragon descended from mid-air, a horrible scream arose from within. Only Freya had seen such a sight long ago, on the battlefield of Ampere Seale, the day when dark clouds covered the sun and a line of gold descended from above the clouds to bring final victory in the war.
She turned back, “Medissa.”
“Sister Freya, I’m here.” The Silver Elf Princess lifted her cloak and asked aloud, “Shall I summon?”
Freya turned back to the ice field, the Enkhor Halflingshad spotted the Dragon in the sky, the men and horses panicked, with the slightly smarter ones had begun to scatter and flee. Freya turned back again and nodded to Medissa.
“Knight of Fahreinen, listen to my trumpet!”
Medissa’s silver threads in her hands intertwined, weaving a silver horn, she immediately blew the horn and chanted: “The blue flag of the plains of Malard flutters like the sea, the spears of the Fahreinen shines in cold light, O knights, listen to the long sound of my horn, the ancient spirits are calling the courage of your hearts. O knights, follow me on horseback, get ready to charge-” The Silver Elf’s voice was so melodious that it sounded like a tune from the old times. The Kirrlutzian knights looked at each other in disbelief at the incantation, not yet knowing what Medissa was calling for, but Brund was the first to respond. “Oh my god, this is the Silver King’s knight army!”
No sooner had he said it than Medissa had puffed out her cheeks and blown the trumpet a second time.
The sound of the trumpet was loud and clear.
And Aloz swept over the forest at that moment, the wind pressure sweeping through the canopy and swooped down over the distant ice fields. But the knights looked back and were shook to see glowing white, heavily armored warhorses emerge from the forest. These horses, as if from the heavens, converged into a silvery tide and came to them in a blink of an eye. A unicorn came to Medissa’s side and rubbed the little princess’ cheek affectionately, Medissa stroked its longhorn and got onto her horse. Freya was the second to get onto her horse, her warhorse was taller than the others, with silver flames burning on its hooves. This one was the legendary mount of the Silver King – the Holy Spirit.
“Everyone get on the horses.” Freya ordered, “Remember your mission clearly-”
She looked back at the plain and sighed slightly: “They have the Transmission Crystal with them, they can’t be given any chance. Leave no prisoners, kill everyone.”
When this order was given, Maynild looked back at the young girl from Bucce countryside.
Freya frowned tightly, but her gaze remained firm.
……
Kuwu was once Arreck’s most trusted, a halfling with a surprisingly small head and extraordinarily large ears who knew exactly what he had earned this trust on, not because he possessed outstanding abilities, but because of his loyalty. His father, an equally proud halfling, also served the previous generation of Arreck Dukes. Their family had such a tradition of loyalty, which is what Kuwu was most proud of. He could get through all his previous predicaments, but this time might be his last time in battle.
He tightened his bearskin robe, still bearing the task given to him by the Duke- to challenge a Dragon. A warrior should die on the battlefield, which was a rare honor for Kuwu. The Enkhors were the toughest people and the bravest warriors on the high grounds. Today they would challenge the Dragon, and their courage will be engraved on the stone throne of their homeland. The wind was bitterly cold, and it almost blew their robes off. The cold was like a knife cutting through their bodies. These Halflingswho were used to the dry and cold climate of the highlands found it just as unbearable. Kuwu had a bad feeling from this morning, the old man of their clan used to say that if a day starts badly, everything would be bad, and he broke his kettle this morning, which was an extremely disturbing bad omen.
The team struggled to move forward on the ice field, and they had not moved more than a few miles throughout the whole morning. Kuwu frowned. He was the most experienced warrior among his people, and he kept listening to the sounds carried in the wind.
Suddenly, he heard an eerie sound.
It was like rolling thunder through the clouds, it was not as pronounced, but still booming. This low-frequency boom soon became clear, and Kuwu turned back to the sky and stared somewhat wildly. He finally heard it, it was the sound of something flying in the sky, and it must be something huge. If they really had attracted that huge Dragon, then they would die here, but their blood would be honored.
In just a few moments, the expected giant shadow did appear in the skyline. It parted the clouds and tore through the sky, leaping into Kuwu’s view in a flash. At that moment all the Enkhor Halflingsspotted the enemy. They screamed, and the timid ones were already distraught and began to scatter in panic. But Kuwu could forgive them, after all when he first heard about the mission, he was just as frightened as they were.
He was still a little embarrassed when he remembered that time, how could I be considered a qualified warrior like that? He took out the highland alcohol, tilted his head backward, and poured it down his throat. He felt a fiery sensation, then wiped his mouth with a wild smile on his face. Enough already , he never expected his men to take on a giant Dragon, as that was an impossible task. But at least they had accomplished their mission which was already enough. The stupid Dragon had been drawn to this ice field, which meant the Lord’s plan could be carried out.
Kuwu almost laughed out loud, but before he could laugh, a blurry thought flashed through his mind.
He saw the gleaming golden scales of the Dragon.
It was a golden Dragon.
“This can’t be!” Kuwu’s eyes widened, his face turned pale, his big ears almost stood erect. This is another Dragon, there are two Dragons in this snowy plain! No way! He could not help but look around in a panic, with one last glimmer of hope in his heart. He hoped that Duke Arreck had misinformed and that perhaps it was a golden Dragon that lived and inhabited here, not a Frost Dragon. Although this thought was so great of irreverence, the halfling leader at this moment could no longer care so much.
Immediately, a more odd sound interrupted all his delusions.
It was a prolonged sound more distant than the Dragon’s roar, which seemed to be ringing from the horizon. Only once in Kuwu’s life had he heard such a sound, and that was the long Dragon horn of the Farnezain army when he had gone out with Arreck during the War of the Holy Saints.
“There is an ambush……”
Kuwu immediately understood what was happening, they had fallen into a trap. He shivered and grabbed out the Transmission Crystal, but it was unresponsive: “No ……the World of Laws.” He almost groaned as the enemy was well prepared. He immediately grabbed his weapon and screamed, “Quick, get out of this area. Spread out and spread the message!”
He looked up, his green pupils reflecting the approaching massive figure of the golden Dragon. Its shadow of which seemed to represent despair.
A golden flame descended from the sky.
……