Amber Sword

The battle seemed to end as soon as it began.

Ecco was almost certain that those guys under the black robes had at least the strength of Silver Upper, but he had expected the incident, yet didn't anticipate the outcome——

He was almost convinced that Cabot and his companions would be killed on the spot, and just as he could not resist the urge to draw his sword to stop it.

But the old man with white hair and beard who walked out from behind Cabot just made a casual gesture, and a few grayish rays of light flickered——those guys he saw as nightmares turned into piles of dust.

The young man opened his mouth wide and, for a moment, didn't know if he was dreaming.

The Holy Mark of Earth appeared faintly on the old man's palm while casting——a wizard who harnessed Elemental Power——even if Ecco was ignorant, he knew there were no more than ten such individuals in all of Erune. Among these ten people, either they were famous high-level wizards or local lords. The rest were the masters of the Black Tower and the Star and Moon Council.

Who is he?

Then he saw Cabot bend down and respectfully say to the old man, "Master Liwuze, thank you for your hard work."

This sentence was like a thunderbolt on a clear day, leaving Ecco in a stance of having just rushed out from behind a sack, unable to advance or retreat. In Erune, many people were called Liwuze. But there was only one who could be called Master.

Liwu?Hardvilla?Gemmer.

The Chief Court Wizard of Erune, a veteran who had aided Ansen the Seventh through three reigns.

Ecco's mind was a bit chaotic; he really couldn't fathom why such a big shot would be seen in such a remote place. Moreover, it seemed he was here to help them.

"This… this…" The young man pointed at the old man in astonishment: "You, you are…"

The old man nodded, acknowledging his guess, then replied, "It's a long story, Mr. Aiko. Let's have Knight Cabot take us to a safe place, and I'll explain everything to you in detail."

"Knight… Cabot?" Ecco looked at Cabot, feeling as if his world had been turned upside down.

...

Brand and his group ascended the silent eastern mountain forest, and the sound of the fifteen-person team 'rustling' through the dense sagebrush was like a long, invisible serpent gliding through pitch darkness; looking back occasionally, their sight split the foliage and revealed the twinkling fires below the mountain's forest. There had once been a brightly lit camp, but now only sparse embers in the darkness remained.

"Our horses are still in the camp, Brand."

This was the third time she had asked this in just a little while. Brand knew Romantic felt heartache for her small foal and couldn't help but smile and shake his head.

"They will retreat, right, Brand?" The merchant lady's eyes sparkled with the mountain's firelight; she turned her head and asked with her chin raised in such a way.

She understood Brand's meaning.

But Romantic, after all, was a soft-hearted young girl. Even though she knew that she and her aunt were not necessarily welcome among the villagers, the land where one is born and raised is still called home.

So she was still willing to help Frey rebuild Buqi——

"Only Lord Marsha would know," Brand replied. Whether the Gray Wolf Mercenary Group would follow in the footsteps of history depended not on him, but on whether he could influence the opinion of 'Mane Wolf' Macaro.

"But, they clearly realized it was a trap, they should be alert——" Romantic asked: "Brand, didn't you say that Macaro was a smart guy?"

"Too smart," Brand knew that before Macaro became a free mercenary, this 'Mane Wolf' was known as the Cunning Fox. He was once the chief strategist of the Royalist reformers. If not for the political struggle's defeat eleven years ago, he wouldn't have fallen this far.

"So they're calculating against each other," Antitina guessed.

"Mostly."

"I don't understand, what's their reason behind all this," the noble daughter couldn't help but propose another hypothesis: "Is there truly a secret in this forest worth coveting?"

Brand smiled, secrets indeed existed, but not enough to covet. Moreover, the contending parties probably didn't care about this point; they were concerned about something else.

His smile caught Antitina's eyes, and the girl immediately asked, "You know something, right, Lord?"

Brand nodded.

"A few days ago, we saw that young man, remember?" he said: "His real name should be Ecco?Lantoniyan?Ophelia."