Chapter 552 - v3c329p1 (1/2)

v3c329p1

The Holy War(13)

It was already late into the night when they arrived at the Mar Highlands; the silver moon hung high in the skies, reflecting moonlight into the mountains. The forest was silent and trees covered the mountains and rivers on both sides, but at the intersection of the foothills, the river opened wider, forming a valley.

The officers of the Royal Calvary Academy planned to investigate the terrain throughout the night, but they were stopped by Brendel. Brendel told everyone to rest where they were, and get up in the early morning instead to prepare their defenses. The n.o.ble private army was alright with this. After a long night of walking, they were already exhausted and praised Brendel’s orders. But the young officers whispered among each other – how could they lay defenses without exploring the terrain first? Even the most rudimentary line of defense needed to be adapted to the local terrain. This was basic military practice written clearly on the Infantry Handbook. What was the commander thinking? But since commands were absolute, no one could challenge Brendel. They could only fall asleep, full of doubts.

In the early spring, when the snow and ice had just begun melting, the mountain glades were particularly cold at night. Due to the lack of preparation, the officers only had a thin blanket with them; naturally, in this temperature, the consequences of this were as could be expected. Brendel many of the young people’s faces turn blue from the cold, neither they nor Audine’s private army had tents with them, so it could not be helped. As for Brendel himself, all he could do was just to patrol around the campsite, looking for any other things that he could help with.

Count Audine’s private army, the Nagas, the officers of the Royal Calvary Academy, and the Dragon Calvary of the Southern Army did not bond well. The military discipline of the private army was not as good as expected. Considering many of the Royal Cavalry Academy’s officers were girls, Count Audine was afraid something might happen and therefore personally placed restraints on his army. The Dragon Cavalry needed to take care of their mounts too, so of course, they wouldn’t allow outsiders near them. The Grey Fin Nagas from the s.h.i.+ning Sea, on the other hand, could get used to the cold climate, but the dry land made them uncomfortable. Thus, they all rested under the river bed, curling up their body.

For Brendel, once his physical fitness reached the Gold-rank, sleep was no longer an absolute necessity. His metabolic system was constantly self-improving, so it was fine to not sleep for several days and nights. He walked slowly along the edge of the black pine forest. The sky was littered with stars; such a sight was rare in the other world. Brendel could not help but stop and enjoy the beauty of this scenery.

However, cold winds blew from the south pa.s.s, and the storms outside Ampere Seale were gathering again, inevitably bringing a dark and dreary air to the impending battle before them. Brendel suddenly heard the crunching noises of feet stepping on dried wood behind him. He pulled out his long sword and turned around. A bright outfit entered his vision, the half-elf Aouine princess now clad in a set of silver armor and a modified skirt. Standing in the woods, she looked elegant and heart-stopping.

“Mr. Brendel.”

“Your Royal Highness,” Brendel was slightly taken aback, not having expected he princess to forgo sleep and look for him instead. He did not think this was a coincidence; the princess would normally not come for a walk in the forest at this time of night. He smiled awkwardly, “How come Your Royal Highness would be here?”

Loneliness flashed past in Princess Gryphine’s eyes. She too knew that she was not supposed to be here, but after she left Ampere Seale, she had trouble falling asleep. Brendel had done such rude, uncouth things to her that day, and she was so disgusted by him at the time she wanted nothing more than to strike him with her sword and have him slain on the spot.

But for the sake of Aouine, she finally forced herself to calm down and made compromises for the greater good. She told herself that there were even more hideous people in this kingdom , even suppressing her emotions after Benninger’s betrayal. But the scene at that time had become a nightmare, leaving a dark scar on her mind she could never forget.

Princess Gryphine’s silver eyes reflected Brendel’s figure. Her heart was full of mixed and complex feelings. She had never seen unjust love and hatred in her life, and everything which had transpired that night made her believe there was no such thing as unconditional help in this world. But if so, why was he pretending he did not want payment for his efforts? His real intentions had long been exposed already, had they not?

And the ident.i.ty of Brendel of being a descendant of Darius made her feel deeply worried; what should she do if he had bigger plans? But Brendel’s plans were her last chance. She hoped to hear an answer from him. She would continue persevering this battle even if it meant giving up even more, only for the sake of Aouine and the sake of rescuing Haruz.

Brendel felt Princess Gryphine staring at him fixedly, and could not help blus.h.i.+ng a little. He did not know how complicated her thoughts were, but he probably could guess why. His thoughts had been such a mess that night, and before he knew it……

One wrong step could cause lasting hatred, and his actions were too shameful to even think about.

There was no need for the princess to lift her hands and personally end his life. Even one sentence from her was enough to make him kill himself from shame. But the mental strength of the modern person was much tougher after all. Brendel could act as nothing had happened just after a day.

Except, now that he was being stared at so intently by the half-elf princess, he still felt a little embarra.s.sed. He coughed and turned his back.

This subtle movement caused Princess Gryphine to be surprised. She was born in the royal family, and she was intelligent and brilliant. Not only had she witnessed plenty of deception and conflict, but she had also inherited the elves’ sensitivity towards s.h.i.+fts in emotion, instantly detecting the meaning behind Brendel’s action.

“So, it seems like Mr. Brendel is capable of feeling embarra.s.sed after all.” Princess Gryphine’s voice was gentle and soft, but as crisp as a nightingale’s song amongst the trees.

‘I’m sorry, that ……” Brendel was on the verge of breaking into sweat and thought to himself –This soul of his in this world was only nineteen years old, and even in his last life, he was just a hapless otaku unpracticed and unfamiliar with the intricacies of expressing his feelings. Though some of his personality had s.h.i.+fted and matured over time, he was unable to avoid feeling a little helpless right now. [TL: Do you guys prefer to use the word otaku? Or NEET? Comment down below!]

Princess Gryphine thought to herself and could not believe her own eyes. She suddenly became curious and asked, “Since Mr. Brendel also knew that it was …… it was something rude to do, then why did you still do it?”