Amber Sword-Chapter 832 - 148: Deep into Thorny Ridge

Even a casual glance was enough to leave one in awe.

Brand took a deep breath as he saw those specks of eerie blue light flowing above the canopy of the Black Forest—this was the purest magic, unaffected by any force.

However, these magical powers quickly sank and turned black in the Barbaric Land, forming monsters within the forest. The tide of magic had come, and the air seemed to be filled with its scent.

A silver moon shone over the dense mountains and forests.

But then he paused slightly, as a network of green light changed in his retinas, finally forming a line of small text projected at an infinitely far focus point.

"Rubis Mercenaries, Tiya enters the graveyard."

Brand 'huh'ed and immediately stopped to connect with the Wild Elf girl. To be honest, it wasn't unexpected for her to run into trouble in the Black Forest, but it still surprised him how quickly it happened.

After all, Tiya is a Silver Rank Elemental Mage, capable of escaping even a small wolf pack. Unless she encountered a male wolf.

Could there be a third wolf pack in this area?

This made Brand a bit wary.

He first comforted the little girl with a few words, finding it rather amusing. This was already her second time entering the graveyard alone, and he didn't know why this cute little girl always seemed to have such bad luck—could it be because the Red-hand Soft Girl had taken all the good fortune for herself?

Tiya was tougher than he imagined. She first complained to him about how painful it was to be skewered by a sword, insisting that Lord must avenge her, and then briefly described the situation at the time.

When Tiya mentioned the ability that turned weapons and magic into dust and let them drift away with the wind, Brand suddenly felt a jump in his heart. To his knowledge, there were many spells with this effect, but when paired with the unique sight of purple rose petals withering away—

There was only one possibility.

In Brand's view, the Corrosive Element was not a very powerful element, but the one who mastered it made his heart race with fear. Lord Withering Andesa—one of the twelve Shepherd Leaders of the Shepherd Tree Men, Martha be praised, she was nearly the pinnacle of the best of Vorn's current powers.

How did that woman end up here? Brand's heart was pounding; he thought he had already caused enough of a stir by creating a Divine Artifact reaction that attracted the Cruz people, Bujia's Wizards, and Flame Temple all at once.

He never expected the Shepherd Tree Men to intervene as well. Does the Lion Heart Sword have such allure?

Then he realized: if the Lion Heart Sword was indeed part of the Flame Scepter, then it made sense for the Shepherd Tree Men to appear here. The Four Sages had been among their great nemeses, and stopping the Four Sages' weapons from reappearing was undoubtedly a priority for them.

This explanation seemed acceptable, too.

And knowing that the witch Andesa was here made Brand unsurprised by the deaths of Viscount Alman and the young genius Alchemist. He thought that even adding ten of himself would not measure up to a single finger of that woman.

However, what slightly reassured him was that from Andesa's act of kidnapping Faina, her target should be the Cruz mission.

That was good.

Among the Cruz people was the Female War God Veronica of the Dome Blue Army. In this season, Veronica's strength was likely at the level of 70, or the peak of the Wall of Principle (Elemental Domain), though probably not a match for Andesa, but the Cruz mission certainly did not consist of only Veronica.

Brand knew well that the Cruz people were divided into several systems, apart from the knight power represented by the army, there were also Astrologers and Court Magicians, as well as Holy Temple forces.

This time, since Flame Temple traveled alone, the Cruz mission should at least include people from Great Mage Madlan's group.

After listening to Tiya's description, Brand calmed down to think for a moment. He thought the Cruz operation this time might be led by Veronica, so according to their rules, there should at least be two High-Level Wizards accompanying the group.

Two High-Level Wizards plus Veronica—no wonder Andesa dared not act rashly. But if the two sides encountered each other, it would certainly spark conflict. As Brand considered this, his heart couldn't help but become active.

Two High-level NPCs in conflict, with opposing strengths closely matched—what did this represent in past games?

Brand's eyes lit up; it was simply the perfect opportunity to take advantage. In the past Amber Sword, he would not have hesitated to turn and see what benefits could be gained from such chaos.

To take advantage of every opportunity—was a fundamental player attribute.

But he cooled down quickly, suddenly remembering that he wasn't a player anymore. The duels between NPCs like Veronica and Andesa were beyond his ability to intervene; even dying ten to twenty times could be expected.

In past games, dying more times might not have been an issue, but here it was different—Brand quickly forced himself to discard such dangerous thoughts, fearing a moment of recklessness would cost him his life.

He took a breath, feeling a sudden, slight sense of relief—however strong Andesa might be, she probably could not comprehend Tiya's identity, therefore that woman would never expect—her movements had already been exposed.

Knowing that the old witch was active in this area, her threat was much diminished. Brand knew the twelve Shepherd Leaders of the Shepherd Tree Men well; he had even personally confronted some of them. As for their habits and styles of action—he was well-versed.

"Is there no problem?" Tiya asked him puzzled, "That woman seems very powerful."

"Don't worry, she may be dangerous in the dark, but thank you, Tiya."

Tiya gave a sweet smile.

At this moment, Brand looked up, hearing a familiar voice beside him asking, "What happened?"

Brand was taken aback, then saw Antitina looking at him with concern—in the darkness, her bright eyes made Brand uncomfortably think—why did this noble daughter always seem to focus her attention on him?

"Nothing, and you?" Brand asked.

Antitina replied crossly, "Elder Wade has been looking for you for quite a while, but you've been lost in thought. I told him you were pondering, and he didn't dare disturb you—"

The noble girl paused, "It seems they've found other adventurers ahead; you'd better go check it out."

"Huh?" Brand was dumbfounded.

...

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