The Amber Sword

Chapter 38 – The battle for time

Romaine’s conditions were not as optimistic as Brendel had imagined. With each passing second the atmosphere became more intense, and he realized that there must be a secret that she kept in a heart— and a secret that was so deeply hidden away in her heart would ultimately present itself as fatal in this dream world.

There were only the sounds of Freya and his anxious breaths while the merchant girl slept quietly in her arms, and Brendel found himself completely afraid— that Romaine would never wake up from her slumber.

He looked at the Golden Demonic Tree, the connection between the dream world and reality was becoming weaker, and it was going to wake up anytime.

“Brendel?”

Freya’s fists were clenched into a tight ball, and she had trouble finding words to rouse Romaine from her anxiety. He said they had only five minutes, but Romaine still looked like she was deeply immersed in her dream. Yet Freya knew she could not blame the youth, because she was the only one who knew Romaine’s secret in Bucce.

She was starting to regret that she did not tell Brendel, but how could she know that this dream world was so complicated?

However, Brendel did not fall into a spiral of confusion and thought quickly. He suddenly threw the ‘Thorn of Light’ over to them.

“That far?” Brendel was taken aback slightly, before chopping off the vine that was attacking him. The remaining stump lost its vitality and sank down lifelessly; the place where it was cut off was burned black.

“60 meters.”

Brendel hesitated for a while, even though he found it a little incredulous, he decided to trust her: “Freya, enough! Do you see that small path over there, prepare to go over there.”

Freya’s actions only stopped for a split second before she raised the sword over her chest, and defended against the vine who whipped her over to one side. The ‘Feathers of Wind’ lit up and became a web of light, negating most of the impact and she rolled on the ground several times before climbing up. She was already at Romaine’s side.

“Romaine, let’s go!” She grabbed the merchant girl’s hand and ran to the indicated location.

“Ehhh! What about Brendel?”

“He will definitely catch up.”

[Oh? That lass has finally learned to trust me and not overextend herself.]

Brendel was relieved. He was afraid that Freya would make things complicated by staying behind. The vine that attacked Freya went after her again, but Brendel severed it into two from the earlier opening she made.

He did not dare to stay behind any longer with the enemies cleared. The movement below the ground was loud enough that he even could hear them, proving that Romaine’s judgment was accurate. But he was still surprised, how could that ditsy girl hear something at least 70 meters away?

[If I calculate it…. that’s at least 5 OZ worth of perception.]

That thought only appeared for just a split second and he immediately ran away. It was not hard for him to catch up to Freya and Romaine, but the three of them were constantly interrupted by the roots appearing.

Then suddenly, they heard a huge boom at the southern valley, and all the vines that were attacking them pulled back.

Brendel did not need to say anything, but the girls knew that the Rock Wurm had joined the fray.

“Did we win?” Romaine asked in delight.

He shook his head. They still had to enter the heart of the valley. In the remaining time, the Golden Demonic Tree would constantly measure which side was more threatening and move its numerous roots to stop them. This defense would not last very long and ultimately end in their victory.

As long as they managed to do it within the time frame.

There was less than five minutes.