After the smoke and dust had cleared, Brando's eyes immediately fell on a card lying on the ground, about the size of a palm. He picked it up. The front was painted in a colorful style, depicting a tall, magnificent tree, its mysterious veins extending from the trunk into the crown. A VII was written in the upper-left corner, but there was no crystal marking its elemental attribute. He paused, but by now he knew how to deal with things like this and immediately opened the Attributes data to scan it.
The card's description changed:
Sacred Tree Secret Realm
(Elven Forbidden Zone VII)
Basic Land—Forest
Produces 1 Water Element each week and adds it to the Elemental Pool.
Tap: Construct forest terrain.
"My soul returns, my soul returns home."
"This deck is called Elven Forbidden Zone?" Brando was stunned for a moment. The card's description did not explain the conditions under which it took effect. Did merely entering his deck cause it to naturally produce 1 Water Element each week? But what would happen if he had no Elemental Pool?
The part about tapping the card to construct a forest also needed verification. Of course, he certainly was not going to experiment here. Once the Golden Demon Tree fell, its magical servants would scatter like birds and beasts, then quickly wither after losing their supply of magic power. Perhaps one Treant could take root in another forest and continue the ecosystem, but that had nothing to do with Brando.
What Brando was worried about was the Stone Cone Worm below. Once it finished absorbing the scattered Earth Elements and magic power, it might come looking for trouble with the three of them. Elemental Creatures did not understand the meaning of being full.
He put the card away and recalled the previous magical resonance. There should presumably be another card belonging to the Knight deck here. Unfortunately, magical resonance occurred naturally and could not be triggered repeatedly. Otherwise, he could have used that method to search. While having Freya and Roman gather some acorns from the Golden Tree, Brando thought that mature acorns could be used to make high-grade mana potions. In the game, these were among the most luxurious consumables.
Unfortunately, a Golden Demon Tree could produce at most seven or eight mature acorns. A permanent solution was impossible.
He walked to a certain spot and turned over the leaves, discovering a pair of gloves wrapped around an aerial root. From their style, he recognized them as protective gloves. In the game, protective gloves provided 2 points of protection, but they required a certain amount of Strength. Brando vaguely remembered that the requirement was 2.5 Energy Levels. The moment he picked them up, he felt their considerable weight and knew his guess was more or less correct.
He tossed the gloves to Freya to try. He had originally hoped they would make her more of a tank, but the moment the Ponytail Girl took them, both her hands sank downward. They were too heavy. With no choice, the future Valkyrie returned them with a regretful look.
"What a pity." Brando shook his head. "If you wore these with the Empress of Wind Half-Plate, swordsmen below the Iron Tier would basically be unable to hurt you."
"I'm sorry."
"What are you apologizing for? I doubt more than a few people in the Guard Detachment could even wear them." As he spoke, Brando put the gloves on himself. The Ponytail Girl noticed this detail from the side and could not help feeling slightly shocked. So Brando is already among the best in the Guard Detachment?
Of course, she had no idea that even Bresen would have been completely outmatched by Brando at this moment.
The three of them searched clockwise around the fallen crown. Roman found a Swift Dagger with Agility +0.1 Energy Levels, while Freya found an enchantment ring worth a fortune—22 Oz. By expending 1 point of mana to activate it, she could imbue her sword with a layer of flame.
As for the rest, most were worthless items whose magic power had long since dissipated. Brando alone used the Elven Sword to peel away the Golden Demon Tree's outer layer and found the Golden Tree Heart. To his great disappointment, because it was three years earlier than the game's timeline, the heart of this oak was still in the form of a Tree Crystal.
Of course, its quality was far purer than that of ordinary Tree Crystals.
But materials were materials, and equipment was equipment. An insurmountable gulf lay between them. This unexpected discovery made Brando alert. He could not view the things of the present through the eyes of many years after the game.
After all, this was a real world, and history moved forward slowly.
When Brando took out the Golden Tree Heart, he seemed to feel a breeze sweep through the valley—the Golden Demon Tree had died. He raised his head and saw eight silver orbs of light fly rapidly out of the trunk before merging into his chest.
800 experience points.
Brando could not help staring blankly. It had been both a higher-level kill and a BOSS, yet 800 experience was not much. Still, it gave him a genuine shock. Experience in this world truly existed. It was a kind of power that could make him continuously grow stronger. Therefore, compared with the game, he felt even more excited every time he gained experience.
He could clearly feel himself growing bit by bit through each battle.
He was immersed in his thoughts when Merchant's Daughter ran over as if presenting a treasure, carefully holding something in both hands for Brando to see. She and Freya had left all the equipment they found to Brando for appraisal. The young man only needed one glance to tell them what each item was, where it came from, how to activate it, and whether it still had any magic power.
Thus, in Roman's heart, Brando had already become synonymous with omnipotence.
"Brando, you were looking for this, weren't you?" she asked cautiously, holding out the card.
Brando followed her hands with his gaze. The card's pattern was gray, depicting a tall, powerful knight and his robed retainer. Its background color was exactly the same as that of his Holy Sword card. Brando immediately realized that this was the card he had been searching for. He took it and looked it over—just as he expected!
Highland Retainer
(Knight IX)
Water Element 1
Creature—Human/Scholar, Level 8 Creature
When Highland Retainer enters play, it provides 1 Reputation each week.
Upkeep Cost: For each day this card remains in play, pay an additional 1 Water Element.
"The Courage of the Plateau"
This was a Summoning Card. Even Brando could figure that out at this moment. The Highland Retainer's profession was Scholar, yet the description below read "The Courage of the Plateau." It presumably referred to the apprentice retainers of the Karasu Plateau. The wizards and knights of Karasu had been allied with one another for two centuries.
An 8th-level Scholar was not particularly strong. But used well at a critical moment, he could be a great help. Unable to resist, Brando looked at Roman, who was watching him expectantly, and smiled. "Thank you. This is very useful to me."
"You're welcome," Merchant's Daughter said happily.
But at that moment, Freya ran back alone from the north, worry written across her face. "Brando, Roman, I think I saw the Stone Cone Worm coming from the north. Should we avoid it?"
"The Stone Cone Worm?" Brando was startled. He had intended to let everyone rest for a while, but he had not expected the Stone Cone Worm to arrive so quickly. Although it might not attack them, most people would choose the cautious option in such circumstances.
He nodded. "You two go on ahead. I'll set something up so that it doesn't catch up with us."
Stone Cone Worms determined the location of their prey through a magical sense of smell and sensitivity to vibrations. Thus, scattered magical items could draw their attention. After Roman and Freya left, Brando took out Bottle No. 5 of Holy Water, used Gleaming Thorn to pierce a hole in the bottom, and placed it in a crack between some rocks. He then glanced around to make sure he had left nothing behind before retreating west alone.
He thought that, because of the previous magical resonance, Madara might send a small squad to investigate the situation here. By then, however, the Stone Cone Worm left behind would give those Bone Frames a lesson they would never forget. It would also count as revenge for Bresen's group.
*********
It was June of the Year of Flowers and Summer Leaves, and history was proceeding methodically just as Brando knew it would.
Madara's secret envoy arrived at Winterclaw Castle. King Obergu VI of Eluin accepted Marquis Klug of Thornflower's advice and refused to receive the envoy. Thus, the First Black Rose War soon entered its second phase.
On the main battlefield, Karasu Province was facing the grave threat of Madara's Winter Solstice and Black Crow Legions. Grand Duke Ougkin had even sent a messenger to complain tearfully that if they did not receive reinforcements soon, morale might completely collapse.
At the same time, among the mountains where the Kaelman Mountains met the sea farther north, an Undead Army was secretly advancing in light gear.
In the Golan-Elson Province to the south, the Instaron Army was launching attacks against Vanmir Fortress day after day. Yet the flank in the Buche region had fallen into an eerie silence. Count Plar, the commander, had sent a letter to the 104th Swordsman Regiment stationed in Ridenburg. The last reply he received was:
"Everything is fine."
It was June 1.
At this time, Brando and Freya's group were passing through the secret passage beneath the Forbidden Orchard, racing toward Ridenburg and making use of every second. In fact, they had already discovered traces of Undead activity along the way. The scale was small, however, and it looked more like Undead Scouts approaching Ridenburg.
This put the entire group on edge. They had gained a step over Madara's main forces, but no one could say how large that step was.
At midnight that day, Brando led Freya and Roman through the final stretch of Xavier Mountain Pass. When they pushed aside the jungle and reached a small hill called Findex Mountain south of Ridenburg, the night wind swept over them. Ahead lay the boundless Yusong Valley, formed by the alluvial land where the Yusong River and Weishi River converged. The lights of Ridenburg resembled a dazzling gem embedded in the darkness, quietly resting in the valley several miles away and illuminating an entire stretch of riverbank.
Freya and Merchant's Daughter both held their breath at the sight. They had repeatedly imagined what kind of place Ridenburg would be, but they had never expected the sparks of civilization in the darkness to be so beautiful.
But at that moment, Merchant's Daughter poked Brando in the back and whispered, "Brando, there's an army behind us."
"An army?"
"Yes. Look north from here. Into the valley we passed through this afternoon. Do you see it?"
"That's more than ten miles away, and it's pitch-black. How could I possibly see anything? My lady, don't joke with me at a time like this!" Brando was startled, then said irritably.
"But I can see it."
Before you continue