Brando's Starting Point

You're not going to Qing Village?

That's impossible. Brando knows things that will greatly impact his future plans. Therefore, whether it's to stock up on food or to verify that idea, he has to visit the village that might already be occupied by Madara.

So, he thought for a moment and asked leisurely, "If I don't go, do you know how to start? Infiltration and search aren't things you can just assume; they require thorough planning and prior reconnaissance."

Infiltration and search were historically the strengths of those who invested heavily in training in the shadows in games, such as classes like Nightingale and Hunter. As a warrior, Brando didn't know much about them, but he had teamed up with and completed missions with such people before. Based on those memories alone, he was far better than these militiamen.

Freya shook her head. It wasn't that she didn't understand, but Brando's injuries were too severe. "You can tell us what to do, and we'll handle the rest—"

Brando wasn't surprised by Freya's refusal. He knew he had to choose the persuasion method he was best at. For example, the wisdom of a veteran warrior: "Romane."

"Here!"

"Give me your sword," he said, extending his hand to the side.

"Here you go, Brando," Romane said, handing him the sword with both hands, full of confidence.

"Thank you."

Brando took the sword and took a breath, doing his best to adjust his state to the optimal. He was in a weakened state with less than 40% of his health, and the corpse poison prevented him from flexibly using another 20% of his strength. This meant he could only wield at most 0.6 energy levels of strength.

It was roughly equivalent to a fourteen-year-old boy.

"There isn't much time. To prove I'm capable of participating in this expedition, let's decide using an ancient and traditional method," he said, drawing his sword. "The way warriors converse."

Our protagonist looked around and saw that everyone had expressions of disbelief, as if they had misheard. By Martha's grace, Freya was undoubtedly the best swordsman among the Bucci militia of this batch, and even Essen was her defeated opponent.

This guy, do you really know how bad your condition is right now? they all asked themselves in unison.

"Brando, don't joke around," Freya said, somewhat annoyed. She was quite confident in her swordsmanship. If Brando thought he could defeat her in his current state—did he think he was a veteran of the November War?

Brando said nothing, merely making a "please" gesture with his longsword.

The ponytail girl was so angry she almost blacked out. She thought there should be a limit to recklessness, but it seemed reality was not as she imagined. She gritted her teeth and made up her mind to teach Brando a lesson with reality.

Freya straightened her sword and, without thinking, unleashed a vertical slash. Her fundamentals were excellent, her sword was steady, and it carried a thin edge of wind.

Brando parried with his sword, and the immense force that responded almost dislocated his wrist. However, he immediately leveled his blade and, sliding along Freya's edge, slashed down; the young man's strength wasn't great, but it startled Freya—because she hadn't even entered the attack range yet, and the opponent's sword was already close to her gauntlet.

Although unwilling, the female captain with the ponytail had no choice but to retreat.

In fact, she wasn't unfairly disadvantaged. This move by Brando was very famous in warrior swordsmanship. It originated from Cruz's battle formation swordsmanship and was called Cato Counter-Cut in the game. This was an advanced combat technique, and although Brando could only replicate it now by relying on the foundation of his current body's swordsmanship, it was more than enough to deal with a half-baked swordsman like Freya.

Brando remembered that he had learned this move himself after traveling a great distance back then, acquiring it from a mercenary in exchange for two barrels of Madara's bone wine.

Looking back, those two barrels of bone wine were worth it.

Freya retreated. To deal with Brando's relentless pursuit, she gripped her sword with both hands, gritted her teeth, and pressed his sword sideways. Her reaction was quick but not clever. Because Brando had already stepped back, by the time she reacted, the longsword in his hand was pointing at her chest.

Freya gritted her teeth, countered by flicking Brando's sword tip outward with her sword hilt, and then pursued with a thrust. But to Brando, this thrust was undisciplined, purely born from not wanting to lose. He lightly deflected it, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.

Dust flew.

"It seems I've persuaded you," Brando said calmly, sheathing his sword.

Freya looked up, her face filled with disbelief.

It wasn't just her. Of the nine members of the Bucci militia squad present, none except Romane, who remained as if it were natural, were not staring blankly. Was that still militia swordsmanship? It was no less impressive than that of veteran soldiers in regular armies.

"How is this possible?"

"It's not strange. I was the best swordsman among the Brags' 33rd batch of militia," Brando replied casually. "And now it's your turn, Little Finis. Let's solve your problem."

Little Finis looked panicked and quickly shook his head. "I, I still won't go. You guys go ahead."

This kid. Brando couldn't help but shake his head.

After agreeing on a return time and meeting point with the others, Brando, Freya, and Essen set off quickly. Time was pressing, forcing them to race against the clock.

Qing Village was approximately to the east of Clear Lake, not too far away. Especially as the three of them ventured deeper, through the dense canopy, they could still see several grayish smoke pillars in the sky to the east, their colors deepening—the horizon was gradually darkening, which didn't bode well.

Based on Brando's memories and suggestions, they approached the area possibly occupied by Madara from the north of the village. The facts proved his guess correct; the undead army had just swept through, leaving only scorched earth.

Looking at the village below, with flames rising from the embers and thick smoke billowing, even Freya's last shred of hope was extinguished. Madara's army indeed seemed to have gotten ahead of them, making it a pipe dream for them to catch up and reach Ridenburg. She couldn't help but glance at Brando, wondering what this young man was thinking.

But Brando was hidden in a thicket, staring at the rows of skeleton soldiers passing outside the woods and carefully counting the trees in a nearby grove. He counted to the twelfth tree and noted its appearance—

Qing Village, the twelfth beech tree from the south in the grove. He remembered it clearly; there should be a key buried beneath it. In the game, it was a standalone quest that allowed entry into a tomb within the village.

He remembered who had discovered that quest, perhaps a priest? But it didn't matter anymore, because he knew it was the tomb of a Templar Knight, and if everything developed according to the game, there should be some good items inside. But his target was the sword in the tomb—Gleaming Thorn.

It was a treasured sword infused with the power of light. At his current level, using it would be equivalent to a small-scale undead slayer. Of course, for the later legendary divine weapon, he could only imagine it.

After confirming this, Brando turned back, pointing to the two people beside him and saying, "See that?"

"See what?" Essen and Freya were both startled.

"The number of patrolling skeletons. Twice, four times. It looks like there are two squads of Madara in the village now," our protagonist replied with practiced ease. "Twenty-two to twenty-four skeleton soldiers, and two wights."

"So many!" Essen exclaimed in shock.

"It's alright, that's not the main point. The main point is that they control the graveyard and the plaza. The wights left behind will definitely use necromancy there, and they will receive a steady supply of reinforcements. That's what we need to be careful about," Brando continued.

"This is desecrating the dead!" Freya clenched her fists in anger.

"Indeed, but they have the right to do so." He sighed, then pointed to the woods not far away. "See over there, that ranch? You can use the fences and the shadows of the bushes to sneak in. Beneath the granary of that ranch, there should be a cellar. It shouldn't be hard to find, and it shouldn't have collapsed from the fire—you can hide there and wait for it to get darker before we make our move."

The girl subconsciously nodded, but then suddenly realized something was wrong. "How did you know?"

"I've been here for a while," Brando replied casually. He wasn't lying, just not in this world.

"Then what are we going to do?" Essen asked.

"Wait for me there. I'll come find you tonight. Those monsters should be focused on summoning skeletons and won't bother you for now. If you do attract attention, be mindful of your breathing and heartbeat—the undead can see your life force," Brando instructed them carefully.

"Wait, aren't you coming with us?" Freya keenly caught onto that detail.

"I have my own business."

"You—" She was about to speak when she saw the young man pat his sword, as if to say, Don't forget you've already been persuaded by me. But how could that count for anything? Freya opened her mouth to retort, but Essen, standing beside her, pulled her back, signaling her to be wary of the patrolling skeleton soldiers below under Madara's command.

"Do you trust me?" Brando asked quietly.

Freya shook her head, but after a moment's hesitation, she nodded again.

"Then that's all that matters. Go quickly, now. Don't worry, I'll come back safe and sound," he replied earnestly.

Freya glanced at him, wanting to say something more but holding back. In the end, she was reluctantly pulled away by Essen. Brando watched as they passed through a colorful grove and hid in the bushes below, then followed a fence across a long meadow, successfully sneaking into the pasture.

Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Brando turned back and looked at the thicket below. A sense of tension immediately washed over him. This would be his first adventure alone in this world. It might seem no different from before, but here, there was no room for failure, only death.

He actually preferred to act with Freya and the others, but how could he explain the key? He couldn't possibly say he had buried it here before, could he? Such a clumsy lie probably wouldn't even fool Essen, let alone the meticulous Freya.

After weighing his options, he decided to act alone.

"There's no difference, old friend. Just think of it as starting over," he rubbed his forehead, unable to help but encourage himself inwardly.