Amber Sword

Indeed, she is actually far more suited to the throne than her brother.

"Just unsure if those Cave Dwellers will give us a night’s rest," Count Oting replied uneasily.

Brand could understand Oting’s unease; events like demon invasions can vary greatly in significance and are happening on the Surface World at all times. Such as when an evil magician summons a demon and forms a pact, or when a fierce beast from the River of Sulfur escapes to the surface; these events are trivial.

But when a situation arises like now, where demons have mastered one or more large teleportation gates, it becomes a serious issue. Because demons themselves possess the technology to create teleportation gates, if the local Lords don’t quickly react to extinguish and eliminate the teleportation array, the biological army from the Inner Earth World will rapidly grow like a snowball.

There have been several national extinction events in history, the earliest example being in the Golden Hoof Year. Later, another occurred during the Year of Radiance, when the unlucky duchy was close to Erune, near Andobruo Duchy.

"I’m afraid not," Brand replied. Demons are not like Erune’s Flying Dragon Cavalry; they can march well at night, but this rainy weather will also hinder their movements.

The slopes in the Black Pine Forest became slippery and hard to traverse under the pouring rain, turning the world into a misty line beyond the extreme sight range. Fortunately, Brand was familiar with the terrain of this area; the group bypassed several low hills, and then a majestic peak emerged in their view.

This was Brand’s target.

Under the protection of the knights, he, the Princess, and Count Oting climbed the tallest peak closest to Ambeser, braving the rain, and looked down from the summit. The direction of the port was shrouded in darkness, which was one of the most ominous signs. He raised his head and several clouds drifted from the North; it was then he discovered they were all Harpies—close relatives to the Sirens, banished during the ’Celenno’ war who later hid in the Underground World.

Brand lowered the telescope in his hand and couldn’t help but take a sharp breath; he turned around and Princess’s face was pale beside him. Just as Wood predicted, there was already a force from the Joggen Empire within Ampezel Port.

The three of them were momentarily silent.

"Those don’t seem like demons?" Princess asked.

Brand nodded, glancing at the other two, but finding they seemed unaware of the problem. The mix of Joggen’s troops with demons was not a good sign.

The residents of the Underground World are not only Cave Dwellers, but most surface inhabitants generally refer to them as Cave Dwellers. Few can distinguish the relationship between demons and other forces of Joggen, so such attitudes can be forgiven.

But Brand knew Joggen was actually a collective term. Below is a network, connecting many regions such as Mushroom Field and Eternal Darkness Abyss, while the demons residing in the River of Sulfur are actually in the deepest layer of the Inner Earth World, isolated by Vaun’s Elemental Border. The dark elves first discovered them, establishing a city on the Molten Lava Plain, Scorching Peak. Influenced by dark magic, the high-ranking nobles of the city quickly became corrupt and broke the seal of the Elemental Border, releasing demons from containment, leading to the fall of the Dark Elf Empire.

After that, the dark elves retreated to the Eternal Darkness Abyss for defense, demons swiftly occupied a piece of land, becoming one of the underground world’s natives. However, the residents of the underground world are mutually hostile and conflicted; the Joggen Empire under the control of the Black Dragon would never bow to the demons; how are the two races mixed together?

Brand remembered the first Joggen invasion of the Surface World in history tracing back to the Early Second Epoch, the second after the Black Rose War. It was the fourth Chapter of the game, ’Eternal Darkness.’

Has something unknown changed in the underground world? It can’t be that Brand doesn’t think he influenced history so rapidly affecting Joggen; one Earth Sword was already a coincidence within coincidence.

Nevertheless, the real issues still need urgent resolution.

"Mr. Brand, what should we do now?" Princess Griffine asked. The sky was swarmed with harpies like a patch of black clouds; she never dreamed that such a scale of army could gather near Ampezel in just one day. The number of demons on the ground was imaginable, and it’s feared that the troops from Lantoniyan and the Northern Alliance combined couldn’t resist this strength.

Brand also watched the scene, silent for a moment.

"I don’t have any good ideas either."

"Mr. Brand, you have no solution...?" Princess Griffine nearly couldn’t speak.

Brand nodded; this move by the Unity of All Things was indeed beyond his expectations. The current demon army is almost more than the previous Flame Temple and Northern Alliance combined, and he hardly has the ability to initiate another cycle of Adversity Heaven in such a short time.

Summoning the Life Temple, Adversity Trojan, and all precursor cycles, he needs to accumulate a considerable amount of Elements for a long time. Don’t consider it within at least a week.

He pursed his lips tightly, his mind filled with thoughts about the current situation.

...(to be continued. If you enjoy this work, feel free to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (qidian.com); your support is my greatest motivation.)