Amber Sword

But Buni’s Concealed Cloak can only accommodate ten people, and it only lasts less than five minutes.

"Everyone, hold hands and charge together! Be careful not to get dragged out!" Brand activated the Conflict Aura, and a pale yellow array of light spread out from around his body. Most of the knights recognized this as the signature skill of the Holy Temple Knight and immediately understood his plan.

It seemed they had no choice but to bite the bullet and charge out.

Brand looked outside the forest and decided to cast a Water Mist Spell or a similar spell first. After all, with his Elemental Mage level, the Water Mist Spell was merely a second-circle spell, not particularly difficult for him. The only problem was that casting while in motion, and wearing armor at that, brought a frighteningly high chance of failure. Brand attempted three times in succession before he finally succeeded in casting the spell.

The Water Mist Spell essentially creates a disorienting mist, which is exceptionally effective for preventing the enemy’s precise remote attacks. Brand intended to use this spell to prevent the Harpies from leveraging their numbers advantage. However, the moment he released the spell, an unexpected scene unfolded—

Instead of a mist, a pitch-black cloud materialized on the clearing, seemingly obscuring the entire hillside in an instant, plunging the surroundings into utter darkness.

"What’s happening?" The knights were thrown into a panic, and Brand was also startled; this wasn’t any Water Mist Spell. Fortunately, it wasn’t his first time fighting in the dark—long stints facing off against Madara’s Corpse Witches in the game had him ready for all sorts of dark magic. Brand remained relatively calm, instinctively tightening his grip on the Princess’s hand to ensure the casting wizard wasn’t targeting the most important person by his side, while he held his breath to listen for any sounds around him.

In the distance, the sound of rain roared, but within the rain curtain came the equally frantic caws of the Harpies.

It seemed the newcomer wasn’t an enemy.

At least, not an Evil Mage.

He breathed a slight sigh of relief, but it was right then that he felt an ancient voice in his mind: "Follow me, my king. Do not mind the dangers around you; head north, I am waiting for you there."

Brand was momentarily stunned, "Who are you? How can I trust you?" he asked instinctively in his mind.

"Use your heart to feel, the darkness holds no secrets from you, you should sense I mean no harm."

Brand took a soft breath, indeed he felt no sense of danger. Judging by the situation, the stranger’s actions were clearly meant to aid him, though caution was still paramount. He hesitated a bit before saying to everyone around him: "Listen to me, everyone, hold hands and follow me."

Then he reached out and took hold of Count Otin’s hand on the other side. With everyone’s hands linked, Brand didn’t know which direction was north, but he faintly sensed one direction felt safer, so he unconsciously began walking in that direction step by step.

Sure enough, after a few minutes, the screams of the Harpies became increasingly distant in the darkness.

At that moment, everyone couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. After all, if they could avoid dying, no one wished to die, and the knights couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable gratitude towards Brand for leading their escape.

"Mr. Brand," came the voice of Princess Griffine from behind, "was that your spell?"

"No, I don’t know either," Brand replied. Because in fact, he had no idea, he had already initiated a mind connection, trying to contact Char on the other side. Who knows if this was another trap, he had to be careful.

"Char, you damned bastard, can you hear me..."

...

In the pine woods, the officer cadets had already set up a makeshift camp to shelter from the rain, with makeshift tents made from felled pinewood and a sheet of waterproof canvas stretched over a wooden frame. Inside the tent, the Royalists’ Macaro and Overwer were locked in a cold war.

It looked almost as though the Royalists were ready to break with the Princess’s faction once again, but those who had been there for a while knew it was just a disagreement over the upcoming battle plans.

Overwer supported Brand’s view, suggesting that it would be best to temporarily demarcate defense zones with the Northern Alliance. In contrast, Macaro had no trust in those northern nobles, believing the Northern Alliance could act as the main front against the Cruz, and they could launch flanking attacks on the demons—

The map on the parchment, drawn and redrawn countless times, lay open on the wooden table. Nearby, a campfire blazed, with Antitina quietly conversing with Earl Delphire of Yan Castle, neither interested in the aristocrat’s battle plans; Delphire looked down on the Royalists, while Antitina had absolute faith in Brand alone, naturally dismissing the nobles’ proposals.

Yet the weariness on the noble daughter’s face was evident, forcing herself to stifle yawns.

Macaro seemed to be a natural adversary to Overwer, disagreeing on the Royalists’ future and now clashing over how to collaborate with the Northern Alliance. But at least they understood the current situation, refraining from coming to blows; otherwise, the Kingdom’s Cunning Fox and Lonely Wolf might end up dueling here again.

Some of the Kingdom’s older ministers perhaps still recalled the relief of the last duel, back when the two were young; then it was for a beloved lady, now it’s for ideals, for beliefs.

And just as they were about to speak up again, Char walked in from outside. He cast a glance around at everyone inside the tent and opened with:

"My Lord has run into trouble."

Everyone was taken aback.

"Alright, here’s the thing. Her Highness the Princess and my Lord were detected by the Harpies of Jogen Digan and are currently engulfed by the Demon Army’s siege," Char had to explain once more.

"What did you say!?"

...

(PS: 6,000 words, you know, there was a little bug yesterday. I mistakenly titled the fourth Chapter of the game as the third. Here let me clarify the first four Chapters of the Amber Sword: The first Chapter, Empire of All Things Initial; talks about Madara’s rise. The second Chapter, War and Chaos; depicts wars between holy temples. The third Chapter, Ancient Heritage; describes the excavation of the Stone Tablets and the start of the Stone Tablet War. The fourth Chapter, Eternal Darkness; speaks of the onset of the Great Demon Tide.)(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to go to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)