The Amber Sword

The sun painted the sea a golden sheen. What was once the battlefield had turned calm. As the last Naga submerged into the waters, there were only waves of light that remained on the ocean surface. Everything that just happened felt like an illusion. If it was not for the people on board reminding one another about them, everyone might have believed that it was just a nightmare.

However, the Nagas did not submerge back into the water to retreat.

“Look!” A sailor exclaimed.

Brendel looked over the deck. Beneath the far and blue ocean, a black shadow appeared out of a sudden. The silhouette, being way larger than that of the Faraway, made it look like a leaf in the vast ocean. The “thing” moved passed the ship at a speed so fast, it made the ship shudder terrifyingly. The masts were vibrating vigorously, the bolts struggling to keep themselves in place. Even the most valorous men were gritting their teeth at the thought of the planks springing apart.

Brendel’s eyes were moving from one side of the ship to the other. He bit his lip. The dark shadow indicated an unsettling premonition:

A creature having such a large body mass could only be those terror-inducing sea monsters from the legends!

The large mass moved further away and began to come afloat. Seawater fell on both sides of it back. And then a sharp spike broke the surface of the water, forming a trail of white waves.

“Omygawd!!!” [T/L: Oh My God!!!]

“What is that thing?!” The sailors panicked. Anyone who saw a mountain rise from the water would definitely be scared shitless, and they all know, it was not any ‘mountain’. James clenched his grip on the sword. A terrible thought hovered across his mind that made his face several shades paler.

“It’s the Demon Whale! A fully matured one!” Brendel answered swiftly.

“Did you get it wrong?” James sucked in a breath of cold air.

“I do hope I’m wrong.”

“Dear Marsha!” The supposedly fearless captain muttered under his breath.

He was not a coward, but he needed much more than courage to even mention the Demon Whale, which was, in the stories passed down through the generation of sailors, the most infamous legend and the most terrifying creature across the Seven Seas.

Even in the Library of White Port, there were only several ancient manuscripts that recorded the sightings of the beast. In the stories passed down, it was said that only the most fortunate -or the most unfortunate- would have the grace of seeing the Whale’s true form. And to survive even that, it can only be said that he was blessed by the Goddess of Luck.

The Kirrlutz depicts the Demon Whale to be the descendant of the Sea Dragon Leviathan. They were born to be the conquerors of the sea. They could manipulate the sea storms, but were a sign of bountiful harvest in the seas as well. Along the ports of the cities, they were crafted to be jewelry in hopes of bringing in a calm sea along with a good harvest.

But it was truly unfortunate to meet the real thing in the sea. Even the strongest navy humanity can produce will be a plaything in its eyes. An adult Demon Whale was even stronger than a giant dragon. Mortal magic and weapons would not even tickle it, and oppositely, its bloodline inheritance allowed it to use magic that made the strongest human mage look like a toddler playing with fire. And Brendel had known of many cases where its destructive capabilities had utterly demolished several ports.

But upon seeing the monster, he had another thought.

“This Demon Whale is working with the Nagas. Our firepower is strong, they will never come up and attack us.” He looked back, “MIster Sword Saint, it’s all up to you now.”

A Sword Saint?!

James and the other sailors near them clearly heard his words, but were in disbelief. In all of Aouine, there were only five people that had the title of Sword Grandmaster. They were Buga the Cross, Devard the Hawk, and Silver Knight Sylvia. They all originated from the Arreck region. The people within the Mountains of Arreck were sturdy, and had given birth to may of the famous Sword Grandmasters and even Sword Saints, like Gory Keyes from thirty years ago. Among the three Sword Grandmasters, one worked for Duke Anthony, while Devard and Sylvia stayed to serve the Arreck region since the previous generation. Besides the three, House Seifer and House Covardo had one Sword Grandmaster in each of their households. As for Sword Saints, there had not been any since Darius and Gory Keyes.

But right now, Brendel was claiming the ordinary bleak-looking middle-aged man right beside him to be a Sword Saint. The news shocked the sailors that they forgot their demise might arrive in a few more seconds.

As everyone’s eyes were fixated on Mephisto, the man was still relaxed. He only turned back to question Brendel, “Me?”

“Although they had sent out the Demon Whale, they don’t seem to be willing to suffer huge losses. I just need you to force them to retreat.” He looked far across the ocean, calculating how much guarantee he had in his plans. He was very knowledgable in the Nagas, especially the Naga they were facing right now.

Mephisto was deep in thought, and found that his statements were logical. At this moment, James hurried over, nodding, “It’s true. Pirates are not afraid of death. They would not be willing to suffer huge losses in a robbery.”

He looked at Mephisto with doubt. No matter if it was Darius or Gory Keyes, they would be much older than just a middle-aged man. In comparison, Mephisto looked like one of the younger ones of the previous generation.

When did Aouine give birth to another Sword Saint?

At that moment, Mephisto nodded, “Lemme give it a go.” With that said, he placed his hand on the sword hilt. In a sudden, everyone felt a terrifying force pressing them down. The aura he exuded seemed to form a wind pressure that affected everyone. Even Gold-rankers like Medissa and Scarlet could not help but shudder. And for the ordinary sailors, they crumbled to their knees.

“God! It’s actually a real Sword Saint!”

“Dear Marsha! When did Aouine get another Sword Saint?!” Besides Brendel and his subordinates, everyone’s shock was maxed out. They were not only shocked by Mephisto’s identity, but also Brendel’s background. Who are these rebels from Trentheim actually?

Amongst the masses, only Brendel was unaffected by the presence. His Willpower had already surpassed the limits. Do not even mention the aura of Sword Saint, even the natural aura of a mature dragon would be nothing in his sight. He just stared as Mephisto did not hold back in releasing his aura, forming a circle of grey with him in the center. It spread out in all directions, covering the sea in an instant, and the entire ship seemed to be coated in a thin layer of ash.

World Of Ashes.

At that instant, everyone kept quiet. Even James who had so much experience did not know what it was, except that it was the legendary Elemental Power.

Activating Elemental Power–

Let’s not even go to his swordsmanship. Just based on his brute strength, he was already strong enough to be a true Sword Saint.

It was not just the people onboard that fell silent, even the Demon Whale stopped not far away in the sea. It was respecting the power of the strong. It may be a monster from the legends, but in the face of someone who activated his or her Elemental Powers, it would be easily bested. It was an ancient creature, its intelligence not worse than that of humans, and it knew what it was looking at.

It was a strange sight. Between the Demon Whale and Faraway, there was a momentary silence. Neither side attacked. Many of the people there were gawking at the sight. This was a sight they would probably not get to witness once more in their lives and was probably the most marvelous moment of it.

And that was especially true for the sailors.

After a while.

Several figures, both male and female, surfaced from the water. Of course, they were Nagas and their eyes held the same questioning look. They had obviously come to rob an ordinary merchant ship, but they did not expect it to be armed to such a degree. And they even had a master with mastery in Elemental Powers. If Brendel and the others did not attack them on sight, they would have doubted if they had fallen into a trap.

But it seemed that they met up with a portable treasury of some unknown nation.

It may seem to be hilarious, but the Naga tribe leaders did have such a thought. Otherwise, it was overkill to have such defenses. The got closer to the Faraway and upon looking at Brendel, they got even more certain about their guesses, leading them to ask, “May we have the grace of knowing the House of your Highness?”

“His Highness? A prince?” Before Brendel could react, it was Amandina who started to laugh.

Brendel eyed Amandina. He had always thought of the girl to be someone who was composed in any situation, and that statement was not even funny anyways.

Is it because I am really far below her standards of her ideal prince?

Between all the princes and princesses of Vaunte, there may not be many with good looks, but most had the power or wealth. With Brendel’s current financial position, he should be able to pass as some small nation’s prince.

Feeling Brendel’s gaze fixated on her, Amandina could not help but felt her face burn. She coughed lightly and moved away.

Brendel did not know what was going on in her mind and did not think much about it. He looked back at the Nagas. Anyone, including the sailors on board, could see that the Nagas are here to beg for mercy. As he suspected previously, even if they were pirates, they would not rob with a big risk of trouble. In the wide sea, there would obviously be people they would not dare anger, and there would be people worth messing with.

And to have someone with Elemental Powers as a guard. That was definitely someone they would not dare piss off.

Unbeknownst to everyone, when Brendel saw the Nagas, a thought flashed in his mind.

“It was actually you guys…”