The Amber Sword

Chapter 167 – Death

Amman was someone who could use a terribly rated Element Power to great strength. That was because he had covered the weakness of a Priest profession where he could leisurely cast his spells. A fully buffed Priest was strong enough to resist an offensive Mage class, let alone a warrior.

In the game, a fully buffed Priest was perceived as a God-tier profession, and the only professions that could match them were a Berserker with a raged status, as well as some specific advanced professions.

[There’s no possible way I can beat him in a duel. His level is much higher than me, and just casting a third of his available spells to buff himself is sufficient to wreck me……]

Amman spoke again with a cold smile when the youth laughed for a few seconds: “Are you trying to stall for time, your Lordship? Perhaps you are fearless because Lady Veronica does not want to kill you, but that does not mean others will receive the same treatment.”

Brendel stopped.

“That loyal subordinate of yours is hiding nearby. But it seems like that pretty girl is actually your female companion, and I trust that your lordship wouldn’t want to see anything bad happening to her, right?” Amman said as he glanced at a tree.

[Failure. Failure, failure, failure, failure!]

The blade sank deeply into the dragon head’s soft upper mouth till only its hilt could be seen, and the monster lifted its head and roared in pain. Brendel pulled out his sword and aimed for the monster’s throat. A bullet of wind smashed through it and caused the mist to scatter like blood, and the feedback from it propelled him away with a tremendous force. His body sailed through the air like a cannonball and he broke through several tree branches, before crashing down on a bush. If it was not for his body stronger that was stronger than the average human by nearly a hundred times, this would have ended his life.

Still, he felt dizzy from the immense impact. Pain assaulted him quickly and he stumbled, but he got up once more through sheer will.

Brendel’s hand moved up to his lips as he started coughing to expel the blood in his throat. Bloodshot eyes started scanning the area, and he discovered Veronica drawing the fake Lernaia Hydra’s attention. The squires looked like they were lost, and Amman was probably dead.

“My lord!”

Brendel heard Scarlett yell out to him, full of worry and tension.

“I’m not dead yet.” He declared.

“But you will soon be,” Orthlyss’s voice wormed into his mind with a great sigh. “that was beyond reckless. It’s a miracle that you are not dead yet.”

“I know.” Brendel could not help but laugh, but his laughter was soon converted into a serious of coughs. The dragon head that he had injured was still dancing madly in the air, but he did not care and started moving towards the grey gemstone that dropped onto the ground.

“Amman’s gemstone.” Orthlyss was momentarily surprised.

“Indeed,” he said.

“You….. are still obsessed this trifling object at this juncture?”

Brendel laughed again as he picked the gemstone up, and this time his maniac-like laughter was successfully carried through the windless mist.

“A gamer’s soul…… I would say. Always aim for opportunities, I would say. I will never forget my origin, I would say……” Brendel’s voice was almost raspy and waning, his legs struggling to keep him upright.

“Gamer?” Orthlyss was confused.

“Yes,” Brendel nodded as the world around him turned dark, “that is…… my true self, no matter what…… I won’t forget…… my goals and motives.”

“My lord!” Scarlett called out to Brendel once again, this time appearing next to the youth, though her voice appeared like a badly-tuned radio to him.

“We need to leave this area…… It’s unsafe.” Brendel whispered in a hurry as Scarlett caught him before he fell to the ground, and placed his arm over her shoulder, helping him walk forward.

The girl wiped the corners of her eyes and nodded. The fact that he was still able to speak made her feel much more at ease. She thought herself as someone with resolve, but could not stop herself from panicking at the thought of Brendel’s death.

If she could, she would rather take on Brendel’s injuries and die instead, so that the anguish in her heart would not be felt. She gritted her teeth as she could not tell whether there was some level of selfishness to this thought.

The youth held the fragment in his hand tightly and closed his eyes, shuffling in and out of consciousness, not knowing if the Demonic Fog Nightmare was still chasing them. Eventually, Scarlett realized that the youth’s footsteps were getting slower.

“My lord! Please, you can’t sleep here! You must have a solution!” She cried out desperately.

Light returned to Brendel’s eyes. He thought for a moment and fumbled around in his bag, taking out several Health Potions. These were taken from Graudin’s collection. He had concocted a batch that was made with his Alchemy skills while being aided by Merial, but most of them were distributed to the youths.

“Here, my lord, these are my Health Potions.” Scarlett understood what he was trying to do.

He gulped down the contents of the five small bottles.

[It’s no good. I recovered a little HP, but the bleeding damage will eventually drain away everything. Health Potion number 21. It is really the weakest Health Potion out there. Even a priest-in-training could make them, but the effectiveness is awful. Gamers used to call it a painkiller–]

Brendel’s current HP went past the critical zone, but he knew that the injury was too grave and would continue to whittle down his HP.

[Luck is my only option.]

“Scarlett.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Listen carefully, if we continue south, there should be a Safe Zone.”

“Safe Zone?”

Brendel could not control his coughings. There was no time to explain, and the warnings in his retina were increasing. His life could end at any time given his condition. He took a deep breath and explained: “It’s the same as the White Cliffs of Divinity. Bring me there.”

“Perhaps we should go back to Lady Merial? Your wounds—”

Brendel interrupted her: “You are not to go back. This is an order.”

If Veronica managed to escape from the Demonic Fog Nightmare, she would most likely guess that the youth retreating back to Amandina, and they would be caught. If she somehow ended up getting killed, the Demonic Fog Nightmare’s mist was all over the valley. The chances to survive were equally bad.

“But……”

“Let’s go.”

[There is no retreat here. The only path to survival is to enter the Loop of Trade Winds. But I’m the only one who knows how to enter it. It is there that survival is guaranteed for everyone. And it’s the first step to find the legendary Valhalla, and light the Fire Seed of the Dark Forest. The first long-term goal that I set ever since I came to this world. The first step to changing Aouine—]

The youth did not tell Scarlett to leave him behind even though he knew he was dying.

The Unyielding Talent ended at that moment, and the world turned black.