The Amber Sword

Chapter 114-1 – At the edge of the Dark Forest

Amandina and Scarlett traveled to an abandoned orchard near Firburh.

The abandoned orchard was renovated several months ago, with the crumbling walls fixed with wooden logs made into an enclosed wall and extended the area of the original orchard’s size, making it bigger than before. Trees were planted around the area, making it enough to hinder visibility to what was inside the orchard.

In addition, there were hidden scouts placed at specific points. The corners of the wooden walls were made into watchtowers, allowing quick access to alert the makeshift training camp of any situation.

This was the place Brendel chose to train the future White Lion Infantry secretly.

The orchard was divided into two sections. The south-eastern corner took a quarter of the orchard, and provided the mercenaries and adventurers a place to sleep in. These men were specially chosen to protect the first batch of White Lion Infantry, as well as maintaining order.

Brendel had considered adding them to form a new army, but it largely depended on whether Cornelius was vested enough in training them.

The latter was currently in charge of training the White Lion Infantry.

The red-haired girl nodded, slightly impressed at the length to what Amandina was willing to do in order to meet up with Brendel.

“Do you want to go with him?”

“What?”

“To the Dark Forest.”

Amandina jerked once, but she did not answer.

============ Brendel’s POV ==============

When Brendel left his horse carriage, he could feel the lazy sunlight on his back. The youth could not help but stretch out his back like a cat. He turned around and looked at the Dark Forest; the sunlight pierced through the black needle leaves and shone down in a dazzling manner to his eyes, and the grass received the remainder of the thin light rays.

“I knew this wouldn’t be anything good, you little brat.” Grumbling came behind Brendel’s back.

Brendel turned around to see a gloomy Kodan jumping down from the carriage. The latter’s attire had changed to a guard’s uniform when he left the city. He carried a longsword, dagger, short bow, and a quiver filled with arrows. He looked more like an adventurer instead of a traveler enjoying a trip.

The old man took in a deep breath. Even though the Dark Forest was a dangerous place the air was unusually refreshing. The scent of the forest was invigorating despite the cold weather. Kodan looked at the ground and saw that his boots were standing on a thick carpet of grass. It was as though the snow had hardly affected the vitality of the vegetation.

He stomped the ground as hard as he could and the impact immediately caused creatures to scurry out.

“Centipedes, snakes, rats, and scorpions……” The old man shook as head as he spoke: “This is truly a ghastly place.”

“I heard that you fought at the kingdom’s borders during the November War.”

“Don’t remind me of that experience.” Kodan glared ruefully at Brendel.

Kodan’s army were forced to retreat into the Dark Forest and fight there during the November War. That was the only time when the commanders did not care about strategies at all; both factions fell into bloodlust like two dying animals tearing at each other throat, but neither of them could deliver the finishing blow.

The savage war exceeded everyone’s imagination. Hundreds of men who went out as companies, ended up with only tens or even single-digit survivors. The battlefield covered over tens of miles, and corpses could be spotted everywhere in the wild.

The stench of rotten blood and meat made the borders a living hell, especially when one compared the small skirmishes that happened during that era.

Brendel understood and did not talk about it anymore.

Carglise was the third person who jumped down. He pulled Mordenkainen out from the carriage and dragged him about.

“Let go of me!” The Elementalist yelled, and his duck familiar also quacked in protest, but there was no way for him to oppose a swordsman with his strength, especially when it came to Carglise who’s also a Silver-ranker.

Carglise ignored his yells, looked around with interest and breathed in deeply: “So this is the Dark Forest?”

“Why, does the place disappoint you?” Kodan snapped.

“It resembles the forest in Mount Graham, yes.” Carglise looked curiously into the deeper sections of the forest. The poor lighting made the area look like it was a dark oil painting.

“Hmph, I hope you don’t regret what you said.”

“Regret? Well, at first I was regretting it a little, but now I’m not,” he shook his head before grinning at Kodan, “entering the Dark Forest and treating it like an adventure, why didn’t I think about it before?”

[That’s because you’re just a little crazy brat, and you haven’t met this utterly insane brat who’s standing next to you.]

Chapter 114 part 2 – At the edge of the Dark Forest (2)

Even though the old swordsman grumbled in his mind, he regarded Brendel carefully from the corner of his eyes.

Brendel smirked a little when he caught Kodan’s admonishing stare. The reason why he sought Kodan was quite simple. He wanted to use this opportunity on his adventure to train the youths. The Dark Forest was filled with danger at every corner and it was the best place to train.

There was also the fact where it would be easier to impart his ideals to them by having the youths around him.

The problem with this strategy was the unpredictable dangers within the Dark Forest. It was a difficult task to protect these youths alone, and he could not spend all his time to do just that, so he needed more people to help him.

Ciel, Medissa, and Scarlett were powerful Gold-rankers, while the Mercenaries of Lopes were Silver-rankers. However, the current Firburh could hardly allow Brendel to bring out too many of his forces. If it were not for the fact that Scarlett still could not leave his side for too long, he was not even willing to choose to bring her along.

Therefore Brendel claimed that it was a short trip and used it as an excuse to bring Kodan along to help him. Even though the latter grumbled about it, Brendel believed that he would still lend a hand in the end.

[Well, it looks like he only hesitated for a moment before he agreed. As long as I didn’t get him to openly fight against Count Randner or become my subordinate, he’s quite willing to go on an adventure. Still, if looks could kill……]

“Very well, where are the whelps that you needed to take care of?” Kodan said in a gruff voice.

“They are going to reach here soon enough,” Brendel replied.

He looked out to the Wilderness outside the Dark Forest, and soon spotted a black dot which rapidly became bigger. The four carriages soon reached to where they were and stopped one by one.

The mercenaries hurriedly descended from the carriages when they recognized Brendel’s figure, bending their bodies slightly as they greeted him:

“My lord!”

“Is everyone here?” Brendel asked.

“Yes, my lord.”

“How about Scarlett?”

“Miss Scarlett is here along with Lady Amandina.”

Brendel looked up and his eyes landed on the final carriage that was black in color. Amandina and Scarlett alighted from the carriage, but what surprised him was the two Wild Elf sisters in the carriage.

The younger sister Dia even waved at him.

“My lord!” She called out.

The Mercenaries of Lopes were busy with their missions for an extended period of time, and she had not seen Brendel for a while. She seemed particularly excited.

“Why are they here?” Brendel walked over and nodded at the little girl, but his eyes went to Amandina with this question.

Amandina seemed to have predicted Brendel’s question, but she suddenly glanced at the four carriages as if to confirm something subconsciously, before she spoke: “Miss Felaern is here to take care of your needs.”

[A maid serving at my side with all these people around me!?]

Brendel nearly choked on his saliva and looked at her in shock: “…… I don’t need a maid.”

The older Wild Elf sister’s face twitched several times, and the shadows around her eyes seemed to darken. She glared at him and the meaning of her eyes could not be any clearer: “You’re being disrespectful, my lord!”

“I…..” Brendel opened and closed his mouth several times like a fish. He really did not think about that Felaern was a maid, but the way how she conducted herself truly overlapped the duties of that job. He thought for a moment, but had no choice but change his words: “I mean, I don’t need someone to take care of me. I’m not like a kid who needs to be spoon-fed or be dressed up—”

“But you’re the lord of Trentheim,” Amandina said in an earnest expression.

“But that’s a fake title, just like how I’m a fake noble in the past.”

“The past is certainly in the past,” Amandina raised an eyebrow, and her voice was a little reproachful, “but now you’re the fake lord of Trentheim, every single fake word or deed has to be filled with the fake acts of a noble. How can you not have a fake maid?”

She turned her head away slightly to look at him in a meaningful way: “Or perhaps you prefer Lord Ciel to take care of your daily life, my lord?”

Brendel was finally at a loss for words and trembled when he imagined that situation. He glanced at Felaern. In truth, he had gotten used to Felaern back at Firburh who had been tasked by Amandina.

In the end, he raised both his hands to show that he submitted.

“This little girl isn’t bad,” Kodan observed Amandina from head to toe as he came up and spoke to Brendel, “an aristocrat’s daughter who’s pretty and has decorum. That’s hard to come by. Your grandfather would be satisfied.”

“What are you talking about?” Brendel said with a huff.

Sometimes an old man just wanted to see the world burn.

“What?” Kodan realized something and spoke with a beaming smile: “Are you dissatisfied? Then I’ll introduce her to Carglise. Since he’s your adjutant and has the same kind of personality as you—”

Brendel coughed once and looked at Amandina: “Stop talking nonsense.”

“You’re a flirt but you don’t follow it through. You lose out to your grandfather on this point, boy.”

This time Kodan did not get angry at Brendel’s disrespect and patted his shoulders instead, looked like he was triumphant and left his side as though there were springs in his boots. It was rare to find a weakness in Brendel, and he showed off smugly.

Brendel rolled his eyes and looked back at Amandina, whose face took on a rare blush. She lowered her head and said quietly: “Please prepare now, my lord, your time is limited.”

“Do you not intend to join us?” Brendel suddenly realized there was a second meaning in her choice of words, but Kodan’s words suddenly made him conscious of Amandina and how she appeared to be a little cute when she went against most of the time.

The girl nodded.

“It’s too dangerous for you to go back alone—”

“But Scarlett said she wants to go along with you, so she can’t escort me back…..” Amandina thought it would be fine since the road between the Dark Forest and Firburh was not too far, and since the city’s surroundings were controlled tightly by the mercenaries, she would be fine.

“What I mean is for you to come with us,” Brendel said.

“What?” Amandina blurted.

Brendel rarely brought her out because she had hardly any physical abilities to speak off. Even though she felt it was a tiny regret, she knew where her abilities should be used in and did not think much of it.

Now that Brendel suddenly brought up this request, it had gone out of her plans. She knew what kind of place the Dark Forest was, and if she went along she would just be a burden.

“I…… It’s not a good thing, right?” Even though she refused, but there was a small voice that told her to accept it. When she thought that she could go on an adventure with her lord just like the past days, the girl who was usually calm hesitated.

But Brendel was not asking her out based on a whim. He got Scarlett to bring Amandina out safely because he wanted Amandina to take over Valhalla’s administration. She would be his first adjutant in the future, and maintaining a normal operation was integral to his plans. He needed her to be familiar with this sleeping land.

Valhalla was an unusual land that would shock any mortals once it was awakened. The fastest way to get the person to accept it was to activate it themselves and let them experience the process of its awakening.

There were many things he had to do and could not possibly stay in his lands for long.

“It’s fine, this is certainly part of my plans, but it doesn’t mean they can’t be replaced. The Dark Forest is indeed a very dangerous place, so I’m leaving the choice to you.” Brendel said.

“But what about Miss Romaine?” Amandina frowned and hesitated once again: “If I’m not there, no one will be able to rein her in.”

“Don’t worry, she won’t do anything crazy.”

“But…..” Amandina looked confused.

During the past few months in Firburh, there was hardly a day that went by without Romaine causing some kind of trouble. She wondered how the self-proclaimed merchant girl survived her past life, and even respected the latter’s aunt greatly for being able to keep her in check.

Her aunt must have been an extraordinary lady.

But Brendel believed differently. If he was missing in Romaine’s life, she would be more docile than anyone else. The reason why she got trouble all the time was to attract his attention. Even though she was airheaded at times, she was naturally wily like a fox, which made him feel that she was adorable.

“So how about it?” He asked.

“Of course I do,” Amandina gushed after an afterthought, but she quickly recovered herself with a cough, “What I mean is, I’m not afraid of danger if it’s for you, my lord.”

“Thank you,” Brendel replied with a small smile, but he immediately pointed at Dia who was curiously studying the forest’s plants: “I can understand Felaern, but what is with the situation with her?”

[I can understand the choice with the older sister, but why the younger sister? Though it might be a good thing if a second lucky babe searches the loot. I approve of this transaction!]

“She’s here upon Sir Tamar’s request,” Amandina said.

[Oh, come to think of it, the younger sister had been acting as an assistant to Tamar, but what request—]

“Ah, she’s here to collect materials for him?”

Amandina nodded: “But I’m not sure what kind of materials can be gotten in this place.”

Chapter 114 (3) – At the edge of the Dark Forest (3)

Brendel understood Tamar’s thoughts.

The Dark Forest was part of the Wilderness that had never been claimed. People hardly entered the place, and the Laws within this area were affected by Chaos and would be reset at a fixed interval. Mysterious things of shapes and sizes could be found in the forest, and the treasure beneath the earth’s surface was unimaginable.

However, due to the increasing Mana within the forest, various creatures mutated and increased their activities, and even the vegetation spouted with full of life. There were pockets of Mana that gathered in great intensity; crystal quarries could be found near small streams of water, fountains that spouted small flecks of gold ore.

Even though bards sang about such stories all the time, the Dark Forest made it likely for them to become true. Brendel nodded and said:

“I see. It’s true that the Dark Forest is a place where civilization bans people from going there, but it’s also a treasure vault in their eyes. After the second Holy War, many Houses had their powers greatly reduced and they were no longer capable of funding the pioneering knights who entered the forest in great numbers.

But the legends depicted in history is ultimately left behind. There are tales about how the river water which had been basked in the moonlight was able to bring the dead back to life, or that the crimson soil contains the blood of a Sage and made it possible for steel to become gold. There are rumors of a gigantic dragon graveyard where the bones of the dragons could be found which are more precious than diamonds. There are even hallucinogens of burning rare leaves that could bring about illusions of a paradise.

Indeed, it’s definitely the biggest kind of treasure for an Alchemist. If they get any one of these materials, they could make a legendary artifact— though most of these daring Alchemists who ventured into this forest usually ended up as meals for the beasts around here.

This is another truth; the Dark Forest is also a place where monsters dwell in the highest concentrations.”

Brendel explained to Amandina in detail, then rubbed his chin thoughtfully: “Grandmaster Tamar can actually request me to get the materials directly instead of going through Dia. Though it’s also my mistake for forgetting that the Dark Forest is a great treasure vault for any Alchemist.”

Amandina suddenly chuckled: “I suddenly understand why Grandmaster Tamar has his own thoughts about this matter.”

“What does that mean?”

“Perhaps you should ask Dia.”

Felaern turned her head expressionlessly and called out to her sister: “Dia—”

“Yes?” The younger sister trotted over, but she kept her distance cautiously and meekly when she saw Felaern’s disapproving eyes: “Is there something that needs to be done?”

“Our lord has questions for you.”

“My lord?” Dia looked at Brendel with puppy eyes. Compared to Felaern, she was much more willing to approach him because he frequently told her interesting stories.

From this viewpoint, Felaern was quite a failure as an older sister.

“Dia, why did Grandmaster Tamar tell you to come along?” Brendel asked.

“To collect materials, my lord!”

[Isn’t this normal?]

Brendel glanced at Amandina, but the latter pointed her chin back at Dia as if to tell him to ask for the details.

“What kind of materials?”

“Grandmaster Tamar said—” Dia tried to mimic Tamar’s personality, but after Felaern sent a murderous glare at her, her behavior instantly turned respectful, though she spoke through pouted lips: “There are Mana Crystals in the Dark Forest that are just below high-grade, so if it’s possible I should gather more of it.

This includes Moon Crystals and Gold crystals…… Mana plants like Blood-spotted roses, Whipvine-tail flowers……

As for metal mines, it would be best if there are Adamantine mines, though Mithril would be just as good, still, the best metal would be Orichalcum. Of course, It would be fine if it’s a lesser metal like Cold Iron…..

Legends state there’s a fountain of youth, Wings of an Archangel, the Poem of Dragons, the Heart of Gold……”

“S-stop, stop, time out!” Brendel hastily stopped her when he found that she had no intention of stopping.

At first, the list sounded like it was reasonable, but the list was becoming more and more absurd. The Fountain of youth was already a Legendary item. The last three items that Dia said even reached God-tier rarity.

[This Tamar is really treating the Dark Forest like a Dwarven Treasure Vault. Do you really think you can get these treasures once you enter the place? If it’s so easy, everyone would have rushed in here. Also, do you really think these items won’t be protected by some crazy high-level mythical monsters? I can kind of understand his thoughts, but even protecting ourselves in this place is kind of a luxury for us already, let alone bringing out these items.]

Most areas of the Dark Forest were less dangerous and not as mysterious as the legends described, and it was rare to find precious metals or unique plants. Tamar’s list was more of a dream.

Even if a powerful lord sent in their Gold-ranked fighters to the Dark Forest, they might not necessarily return and instead get turned into a monster’s meal.

Brendel dared to venture into the Dark Forest only because he knew the place well. After all, he had an endless supply of lives in his past world as a gamer to explore the place, and even had the compilation of information gotten from other gamers.

Since he had Tamar’s requested list, he rearranged his thoughts.

[I was wondering how I should train this bunch of newbies, but Tamar’s list has given me a clear direction. We will spend a greater half of the day to move towards the druids, then explore the vicinity with the remaining time. Then we can split up into three groups, myself, Kodan, and Scarlett. Each group will be rewarded based on their performance and the things they find. That way we would have competition and allow them to bond with each other. A good plan, if I say so myself.]

Brendel made a rough plan and inspected the rowdy group of youths. A few moments later he heard someone shouting in the group:

“Merial!”

Brendel recognized Carglise’s voice, and he spotted the young man dragging Mordenkainen across the ground with incredible speed.

“Carglise? W-why are you here?” Merial appeared a little confused and blinked several times blankly to look at Carglise.

Merial had a rarely seen golden hair, long enough to go past his shoulders. His eyes were as blue as the ocean and appeared to be someone from the north, but his attire was similar to Brendel— A suit of male Kirrlutz traveling clothes. His body was lithe and his face soft, appearing to be an androgynous person.

His actions and response were so elegant that Brendel thought he was actually a noble’s daughter at the first glance.

“I think I understand. You were defeated along with your father.” Merial took a moment to gather his thoughts before he parted his lips slightly and spoke.

“Haha.” Carglise merely laughed as he looked at his old friend.

“I thought you didn’t come, but to think that Lord Macsen was defeated even with you around,” Merial’s eyes were fretful and his brows were slightly pinched: “did you join them?”

“Yes,” Carglise nodded as though he did not care that he joined the rebels, “but what are you doing here?”

He was surprised to find his friend in this place.

“My squire and I were passing through the lands when we saw the four carriages, and the mercenaries captured us because of that. We had to lie.” Merial’s face turned slightly red.

“More like you ran out secretly?” Carglise saw through his friend’s lie immediately.

“N-no.”

“Fine, fine, I know your secret so you can stop pretending. Don’t worry, I will protect you. But I must say you’re in considerable danger,” Carglise pulled in close to him and whispered so that no one else could hear him, “my lady, you’re entering the Dark Forest, are you prepared?”

Carglise’s expression was one of mischief.

“Don’t call me that!” Merial immediately glared back at him, before her eyes widened: “I’m entering the Dark Forest?”

“Why else would do you think you would be here?” Carglise raised his head up to look at the forest before looking back at her: “It seems like you don’t know this, and I also forgot to tell you, this is the edge of the Dark Forest—”

Merial paled and her body shook but Carglise supported her by grabbing her up: “What are you doing? Isn’t it just a forest? Besides, I’m also here to protect you!”

He warned her and cast his eyes towards the mercenaries around them. Her actions might cause them to realize that she was masquerading as a man.

“H-how can I enter the Dark Forest. You must help me, Carglise!” Merial was a little delirious.

“Well, I actually think that this is a chance.” Carglise disagreed.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Didn’t you say that you always wanted to escape from that damned father of yours? This is a chance! Based on my judgment, my new lord isn’t likely to care what your father says—” Carglise’s evil laughter came out as he felt his idea was pretty good.

“But what I can do in this place? The monsters within the Dark Forest are terrifying enough that even the lords avoid it! We will perish if we enter!”

Carglise held his forehead and continued to speak in a low voice: “My lady, you’re the next stand-in bishop, how can you be so timid—”

He suddenly looked around vigilantly and whispered next to Merial’s ear. At first, she appeared puzzled, but her eyes quickly lit up and she nodded.

Brendel saw that Carglise and the boy next to him pull away from the crowd, and their voices became smaller and smaller. He did not try to listen to their conversation as a courteous gesture. Even if the two were to scheme something they would not be able to cause any huge trouble when they were in the Dark Forest. Furthermore, he had the time to observe that person’s details all he wanted later.

[Given how familiar Carglise is with that boy, he must also be from a noble family. I am a little curious as to how the mercenaries managed to recruit the gentry’s offspring though.]

Brendel was not arrogant enough to think that families of higher social status in Firburh would support him, unless they were not interested in keeping their heads. Count Randner’s revenge would be more than enough to keep them in check.

“Are they……” He turned around and cast a questioning look at Amandina.

“The scions from the noble families. I heard that their families live in the upper-class districts within Firburh.”

“You mean there are more than a few who joined us?” Brendel felt that the situation was becoming bizarre.

Amandina nodded.

He did not want to have any people joining his group of knights with an unclear background. These youths had a clean background, and perhaps the higher ranking people in Firburh would support him eventually, but it was still something odd.

“How did they come to join us?” He asked.

“The mercenaries said they secretly came to join us because of your fame.”

“That’s interesting,” Brendel rubbed his cheeks and was unashamed of his brazen acts, “have I become so famous?”

Amandina merely looked back with considerable disapproval.