Amber Sword

Walking through the misty rainy forest, Brand met Wood, accompanied by Frey. This is the second time he has seen this Great Priest of the Flame Temple since arriving at Ambeser. Standing beside Wood is Mephisto, and Brand quickly greets, "Teacher."

Although Saint Ausor preached to him the Wind Queen Nine Luminaries, Mephisto also taught him many practical combat techniques, and nominally they have the relationship of teacher and student, which the Elf Sister does not oppose.

Wood glanced at Mephisto with slight surprise, "I see, you have taken on a good student."

"Indeed."

Brand lifted his head and saw several Templars in red robes standing behind the two, unable to help but squint his eyes, contemplating Wood’s intentions. However, Wood once took advantage of Turaman’s name to give him a big loss, a lesson Brand will never forget.

Seeing Brand’s expression, the Great Priest of the Flame Temple smiled awkwardly, "It seems Mr. Brand has a deep prejudice against me." He suppressed his surprise, with Williams bringing ten Templars, even if the Kenuolia Fleet was blocked by the Erune Royal Fleet, it wouldn’t be annihilated immediately, especially with the support of the White Wings Knight Order, but what he saw was the dispirited Cruz people being restrained, and the White Wings Knight Order’s banner thrown into the mud.

Who knows if the temple has long been too greedy for ease, or its enemies are too strong, Wood gazed at the young man before him, overwhelmed with a deep unease.

"Lord of Priest knows well the elves’ proverb ’Everyone does as they deserve.’" Brand replied.

"Hehe," Wood laughed bitterly, "So the bitter fruit I planted before, today I come to taste. But Mr. Brand knows clearly, this is not prejudice, the temple needs a stable Erune."

"So you chose the Northern nobles?" Brand insisted aggressively, even raising his eyebrows. Wood was right, from the standpoint of the Cruz people, but he had no reason to consider his enemies, he wasn’t so kind-hearted, "Both the Cruz people and the Eruein are descendants of the King of Flames, all must uphold honor. The Xifah Royal Family long lost their throne, known to all since siblings Okaesi lost the Lion Heart Sword, so the nobles promised to have Heisen I abdicate and his descendants not covet the throne again, thus today Erune has no other heir but Prince Haruz."

"I admit, in this matter the temple was inconsiderate, Moros was too obstinate, I couldn’t stop him." Wood sighed in reply.

This guy, Brand watched as Wood pinned the blame on the deceased Moros. Wood, unlike Williams, is a typical realist, yet saying so was a concession. This made him feel wary, as the Flame Temple’s compromise seemed almost unnecessary.

He vigilantly stared at Wood.

The Great Priest of the Flame Temple smiled bitterly again, "You needn’t doubt, I’m here on behalf of the Flame Temple to request peace from Princess Griffeyn."

"Ah." Frey behind Brand couldn’t help but utter a soft, low exclamation.

Now it was truly Brand’s turn to be surprised, was it merely for the Kenuolia Fleet, but wouldn’t the Empire’s face be more important than a local fleet? If the Cruz truly thought so, they were a formidable opponent. But Brand pondered another possibility, "Williams is already dead."

"Did he die by your hand?" Wood was taken aback.

"Precisely." Brand nodded, it was a secret impossible to hide, besides, Mephisto was right there, he wasn’t worried about the Cruz people turning hostile.

The Great Priest of the Flame Temple fell silent, "This is indeed a problem," he murmured, "But Williams’ temper was fiery and arrogant, dying abroad as a consequence of his obstinacy can’t be ruled out."

"What?" Brand almost thought he had heard wrong.

"Brand, the Cruz people likely have no time to bite everyone, like a dog fallen into the mud pool fighting over a bone, unable to protect themselves. Yet we also have a problem, but now you can feel free to demand terms." Finally, Mephisto spoke up, causing the knights behind Wood to glare at him angrily.

"Unable to protect themselves?"

"Mr. Brand, I hope the Princess forsakes pursuing the Kenuolia Fleet," Wood said.