Act Twenty: The Persuader

Bresen sat down firmly, glancing at Brando and deciding the guy was lying. He and Brando had been in the same militia class in Ankze, and although they hadn't met during their time in Brags, he had a rough idea of each other's experiences.

The son of a miller, even if his grandfather was a knight in the November War and his mother had a bit of noble blood, what extraordinary experiences could he have? He was later transferred to the guard, and this kid was supposed to follow in his father's footsteps, but somehow ended up spending a year in Bucci.

It wasn't likely that this year would have broadened his horizons, but if this kid wanted to lie, he'd really have to consider if he could fool Maden. Bresen turned his head to look at his captain. Their old captain, though extremely ill-tempered and stubborn, was very shrewd, and ordinary lies could be exposed by him in just a few words.

After all, soldiers who had experienced the November War from beginning to end and survived were not simple people.

After Bresen sat down, another young man from the guard, perhaps sensing the awkward atmosphere, spoke up to elaborate on what Bresen had said earlier. He was talking about the details from the daytime encounter to the skirmish in the afternoon. The people around occasionally nodded in agreement or chimed in with additions. Only Bresen and the old captain remained silent among the group.

Brando knew that Maden, whom he knew, had a terrible temper and was almost always ready to curse. However, at critical moments, he could calm down. This was the quality of a veteran. It was just that his silver-gray eyebrows occasionally twitched, showing his inner anxiety.

As for Bresen, he had decided to observe coldly.

As Brando listened to their descriptions, he knew who they had encountered. The army that had followed them all the way from Bucci should be Rosko, the 'Wight'. In the game, Rosko was a necromancer with extremely high talent, and this nickname was given to him by players. His talent was for wights—undead souls summoned more easily transformed into wights—thus his army had a characteristic of replenishing troops very quickly. Although not strong in siege warfare, they were patient, cunning, and good at using cannon fodder to wear down enemies and their morale.

At this time, Rosko should still be just an apprentice necromancer. Brando guessed that his position in Tagus's attack sequence would not exceed that of a company captain. In fact, his guess was not far off, but he never imagined that he and the other party had already met from afar—on the night he escaped from Bucci.

As for the other unit, he didn't need to guess. Historically, Cabes was the one who razed Green Village. This skeleton was not famous in the history of Madara, but he had seniority, and at this time, he should already be one of Tagus's main generals.

Then Rosko's company size should exceed two hundred, with at least twenty wights. Cabes's side, as a main force, should have concentrated at least one-fifth of Tagus's left-wing forces. Such a large-scale force would definitely not consist only of skeleton soldiers; perhaps there would be Black Knights and White Knights.

However, fortunately, the undead army had to blockade several important passes in the forest, so their forces could not be concentrated in one place. Today, the refugees should have encountered half of Rosko's company and one company of Cabes. Otherwise, it would not have been so easy for them to retreat unscathed.

Of course, Brando couldn't say it in such detail, otherwise, the source of the information would be highly questionable. The previous information could be attributed to legends, anecdotes, or stories, but knowing the enemy's troop deployment so clearly was too much. Being a prophet also required skill.

He decided to return to the previous topic. He paused and said, "I don't know if you've heard of Anser, that's the stronghold of the necromancers. In fact, Madara is divided into three factions: one is vampires, one is necromancers. I won't explain these two factions; you should have heard legends about them. And the remaining faction, which also holds considerable power, we call them Dark Lords. They were bandits, thugs, disgraced Templars, nobles expelled from the human world, or wandering undead in their lives. They believe in the Black Codex and are the traditional rulers of Madara."

"Very novel, but it's just a story," replied a guard member.

"No, imagine when one person unites these three factions, Madara will be reborn from the darkness. Coincidentally, they have a prophecy about this."

"But you said earlier that this country has never been truly unified."

"It was in the past, but this opportunity is now within reach."

"But what does this have to do with us?"

"Of course, it does. Have you heard the legend of the Quicksilver Scepter?" Brando suddenly changed the topic.

"The one in the prophecy, the Quicksilver Scepter that legend says will unify the dark world if someone obtains it?" someone among the guards asked.

Brando nodded: "Its full name is 'Loki's Quicksilver Scepter'. Let me tell you who Loki was. He was a genius necromancer. During his lifetime, he almost achieved that great feat—unifying Madara. However, he failed at the last moment, and the whereabouts of the scepter became a mystery, leaving only a legend that whoever obtained it would once again become the king of the dark world."

"However, since the spring of this year, someone has witnessed the Quicksilver Scepter appearing in Anser."

"Wait," Bresen's expression changed: "Was that rumor from a few months ago true?"

"A few months ago?"

"Ah, I remember now. It seems some merchants brought news from that side, saying someone carrying a strange scepter opened some kind of gate."

"The Gate of Sighs," Brando added, "That's Loki's treasury, and also where his throne is located—"

The old captain's brow furrowed deeply: "Kid, although I don't understand the power struggles between those big figures, are you implying that there's a major change in Madara? That would be wonderful. At least it means that this time Madara must have come prepared. Although I don't know what their purpose is, it won't be just a small-scale raid. Invasion? That sounds a bit absurd, but it doesn't seem impossible—"

His calloused hand rested on his knee, close to his sword: "Bresen, do you know this young man?"

Bresen was taken aback. He knew that if he spoke up to cast doubt at this moment, although the captain wouldn't immediately run this kid through with his sword, he would at least arrest him and leave him unable to defend himself.

He couldn't help but cast a grim glance at Brando, not hiding the mockery in his eyes. But after thinking about it, he didn't choose to do so: "I know him, and I also think he's lying. But my reason tells me that this person has no reason to deceive us—"

"What if he's already been bought by Madara?" Maden asked again.

"It's not that I haven't considered it, but considering his experiences with Freya and the others, if Madara's commanders could plan so far ahead, then I think I wouldn't have lost unfairly."

"Very good, young Bresen." Maden patted his second-in-command on the shoulder.

Huh?

Not only Maden, but even Brando couldn't help but glance at this young deputy captain. It seemed this guy wasn't entirely useless. Of course, the impression of him being detestable couldn't be changed, and he was too narrow-minded to achieve great things. He judged the other person from a god's-eye view. Of course, if Bresen knew Brando's thoughts at this moment, he would regret speaking fairly earlier.

However, it didn't matter even if Bresen denied it or slandered him. Brando had his own ways to convince Maden. As someone who could foresee the future, he was, after all, standing on a higher level.

It would just take more effort, and he might even leave some leverage.

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic," Maden said, "Kid, so you think Madara's target is Ridenburg?"

"In the Golan-Elson Region, Eluin's only reliable defensive line is Fort Vanmir. And Ridenburg protects the flank of this line, so Madara's target can only be Ridenburg," Brando nodded.

Maden couldn't help but rub his nose and curse, "Then since Madara has made up its mind, the ones who were sticking to us before must not have been minor characters, right? Damn it, why do we have to bear all this bad luck!"

"I'm not clear about the specific situation," Brando thought, how could I not be clear? "But judging from your descriptions, the ones who followed us should have been an undead army led by a necromancer. And the one that followed later might have been the Dark Lord's army—"

"The army structure of necromancers is based on wights as the basic unit, making them very easy to distinguish. Based on your descriptions, there should have been about half a company. As for the Dark Lords, it's more chaotic, but judging from the forces stationed in Green Village, there should be at least two companies or more."

"About right." Maden nodded.

But he didn't know that Brando had underestimated the numbers by at least half. Even with half the numbers, everyone couldn't help but feel a little worried. With an undead army of this scale, how could their thirty-odd guard members, along with a group of old, weak, women, and children, break through successfully?

The old captain also sighed, "Alright, Brando. Since you've come to tell us this, can I assume you already have an idea in mind? I'll be frank with you, if the battle is truly as you say, I'm not confident I can lead these people out."

This statement made Freya gasp softly.

But Brando nodded, "I have a way."

All eyes suddenly focused on him, even Bresen's gaze, though somewhat distrustful, was filled with shock.

This made Brando take a breath nervously. After all, he had only just gained some confidence, and being the center of attention like this made the young man feel a surge of pressure. He suddenly realized that every word he said next could determine the lives of many people. Should he be more cautious?

He couldn't help but remind himself to stay calm, to make sure he didn't forget anything.

"Everyone can head north and cross the Dagger Riverbank," he replied.

"The Dagger Riverbank?"

"That place, why?"

Brando hesitated. How could he explain clearly why, historically, "White Knight" Eberton and "Wight" Wetton had arrived nearly two days late to surround this place?

(P.S. Sorry for the late update. The next chapter might also be delayed.)