Amber Sword

"Frey!" Beth came to the girl’s side and helped her up.

The knights of Lantoniyan saw the female knight covered in blood and couldn’t help but cheer. Frey clenched her teeth and raised the Lion Heart Sword high.

The sword blade shone brightly like a flag, a flag appearing in everyone’s view. It was the Lion Heart Sword, a banner of victory, symbolizing Erune’s integrity and unyielding spirit.

"Frey!"

"Frey! Frey!" Everyone’s blood boiled as the knights shouted their temporary commander’s name and launched an attack on the city wall.

No signs of Minotaurs appeared on the battlements anymore; creatures of such high order, even the Demon army couldn’t use them as cannon fodder. This was no longer the battlefield of the Saint War, thousands of years ago.

Frey watched the black-red torrent flow into Bunoan Guard City, yet her heart remained calm.

"Beth, help me up."

"What! You’re so injured already." The short-haired girl complained, "I promised the Commander I’d take good care of you, now my precious magic longbow can’t be saved."

Frey couldn’t help but cough with laughter; she knew Brand would never nitpick about this reason. She felt intense pain but had never felt so relaxed before; something in her heart seemed to drift away, yet it matured doubly.

"I think I suddenly understand something, Beth."

"What do you understand?"

In another space-time, Erune’s future Valkyrie smiled slightly. At that moment, she finally understood those words weren’t spoken to her, but rather Brand questioning and answering himself.

’War always happens; we can only choose to accept it.’

’We are born in a bad era; we can’t choose our era. But we can try to change it,’

’Perhaps we can’t change much, but at least we have fought alongside many to achieve it—these memories are already extremely precious.’

’Do you know the word companion? No matter how far you go, many people accompany you. You will never be alone.’

She, he, everyone will advance together with Erune.

Forever.

...

Changes in the battlefield made the demons finally notice humans’ unexpectedly fierce frontal assault. Although losing Bunoan Guard City wasn’t a big deal, it at least indicated their weak opponents still had strength to counterattack.

They began deploying Jogen Digan’s troops to the frontline, aiming to crush these wretched beings’ last hopes.

And far in the forests near Ambeser, the knights looked up at the sparkling fireworks in the sky, their hearts silent. Everyone knew what it was—sparkling for about a quarter of an hour, Old Witch Barbara finally brought back her companions.

Just as Brand expected, they were witches from various parts of Erune, mostly on par with Barbara in strength, seemingly led by her.

They all expressed their loyalty to Brand one by one, even took oaths, of course, away from others’ attention.

Time was tight; Brand had no time to reassure these new subordinates. Under his command, everyone packed up and headed north. The knights had no choice but to brave the rain through the forest in darkness, sometimes even crossing one or two swollen mountain streams. Aside from the Princess, most of the party were at silver level or above, and the harsh weather could only cause minor trouble for them.

They bypassed several short hills, heading north for over twenty minutes, quickly reaching their destination. The secret door was situated in a valley, surrounded by twelve hazelnut trees, just as Brand remembered. But when they emerged from the woods, they saw an open area with no door and no artificial structures.

Everyone stopped, casting puzzled glances at Brand.

Brand said nothing, knowing what the matter was in his heart. Yet he remained cautious, waiting for Barbara beside him to explain, "There’s an illusion technique here that only witches can unravel."

Indeed.

...

(PS: 4000 words! Asking for tickets! Any ticket will do!) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)