Chapter 31: Information from the Past and Present
“I see. So you’re the same.”
Hearing this, Joshua immediately understood. The information in his mind connected, and he suddenly recalled many details.
Brandon Kaos, the Sword of the Empire in his past life, a descendant of the legendary archmage Kabala Kaos.
But at the same time, he was also the member of a mage family mentioned in the old steward’s secret letter—one who had sealed an inter-dimensional narrow passage and knew of the existence of the Evil Gods.
New information from the past and the present, all mixed together, instantly made the warrior understand many things.
(I see. If I hadn’t rushed to aid Moldavia this time, then Count Scarlant, Lady Verdani, would likely have died in the beast tide. I could tell from her state of mana exhaustion and coma when I arrived. And clearly, she must have been Brandon’s unknown wife in his past life.)
Reaching out his left hand, touching the colorless light of Order, Joshua could sense that, in a certain sense, the other man was his ‘kindred spirit.’ The power brought by the inheritance of the Chaos Warden was identical to the power on the other’s sword, even originating from the same source.
He was still pondering other matters: (As for why the two never held a formal wedding, it’s also easy to explain… As a descendant of a legendary powerhouse, a Gold-rank swordsman himself, and an Honorary Baron of the Imperial Capital, Brandon’s status actually matches the Scarlant family. But both of them are the sole heirs and leaders of their respective families. The issue of inheritance for any children would be very difficult to resolve, and the Scarlant and Kaos families could never merge… Plus, the distance is indeed great. Neither could leave the Imperial Capital or the Northern Lands. In that case, a ceremony like a wedding is essentially meaningless for two Gold-rank powerhouses.)
Thinking this, Joshua looked up at the Gold-rank swordsman, who had already sheathed both swords, and couldn’t help but feel a pang of emotion: (In his past life, he was always abstinent, looking like he’d stay single forever. The reason was probably Verdani’s death. I didn’t expect him to be so devoted.)
Brandon had no idea he had already been labeled a hopeless romantic by the warrior before him. He put away his swords and said seriously, “Joshua Radcliffe, although you’ve only inherited this power not long ago, as a comrade-in-arms fighting against Chaos, I believe you must have already sensed that shadow of Chaos lurking in the Black Forest.”
“Indeed. It’s a truly repulsive aura. While charging into the fortress, I even killed several infant forms of Wild Gods.”
His train of thought returning, the warrior nodded. “The scale powder of the Black Erosion Dragon also carries a dense Chaos power. I can even confirm that the Black Erosion Dragon has been completely corrupted by Chaos. This corruption is related to the Abyssal Demon Dragons of the Southern Sea and the Five-Colored Dragon Clan, and through it, they have tainted the entire Black Forest of the Great Aias Mountains.”
“You know this much?”
The Gold-rank swordsman looked somewhat surprised. He frowned and said softly, “The Five-Colored Dragon Clan is secretly communicating with some mysterious entity from the Abyssal Sea Realm. This is the latest information just confirmed by the Imperial Capital. Even the late Winterfell Count Belou didn’t know about this. How did you find out…”
A hint of doubt appeared on his face.
“Before the beast tide in Moldavia, my territory also experienced a siege by a Black Tide.”
Joshua reached his left hand into a small pouch hanging at his waist. The outer layer of this pouch was covered with a thin sheet of steel, formed when molten iron had flowed over it and cooled. But despite such high temperatures, the pouch wasn’t destroyed; instead, it was coated with a metal shell.
Tearing open the steel layer on the pouch with one hand, the warrior took out a silver particle the size of a grain of rice. Accompanied by the sound of air flowing as a mana release spell was undone, this silver particle instantly transformed into a silver-white egg-shaped object. There were even traces of scorching and corrosion on its surface.
Space-time sorcery was not widespread in this world; it was extremely difficult. Except for true powerhouses, most people couldn’t use abilities like subspace storage. In contrast, civilian shrinking spells and weight-reduction enchantments were very mature. Whether for weapons, armor, or other items, most people carried supplies in pouches enchanted with shrinking and weight-reduction spells.
Joshua held this giant egg in his left hand and handed it to Brandon. “Among the creatures besieging the city was a Gold-rank Mammoth Behemoth. Its berserk ability far exceeded that of ordinary magical beasts affected by the Black Erosion Dragon. This extraordinary berserk ability originated from this egg.”
Taking the silver-white giant egg solemnly, the blonde swordsman’s face was full of undisguised surprise. He seemed to recognize the object. “It really is… a derivative of an Abyssal Demon Dragon! Such a thick Chaos aura, and the residual power of the Black Erosion Dragon… It seems those mages in the Imperial Capital were right. All Abyssal Demon Dragons came to our world as refugees. The Abyssal Sea Realm must be completely fallen, just like what’s behind the Sealed Land!”
The Abyssal Sea Realm was, naturally, the homeworld of the Abyssal Demon Dragons—a deep-sea world filled with water and lacking continents. In ancient times, it had been connected to the Mycroft Continent. The Demon Dragons had come through that passage; it was one of the many different worlds connected to Mycroft.
“Not necessarily refugees. There must be followers and messengers of Chaos among them. Since accepting a large number of these otherworldly dragons, the Five-Colored Dragon Clan has gradually undergone strange changes.”
Relying on memories from his past life and correlating them with the information he now had, Joshua viewed the former civil war between the Five-Colored Dragons and the Metal Dragons from a new perspective. “Because dragons have long lifespans and very firm wills, the corruption must be exceptionally slow. But precisely because of that, if they truly fall, it will be an exceptionally deep descent… As Astral Dragons capable of traveling and reproducing across the realms, they are different from Original Realm Dragons like the Black Erosion Dragon. These creatures have the ability to communicate with beings from other dimensions.”
“That’s right. This is very dangerous… Perhaps those creatures can even communicate with the Void Evil Gods!”
Brandon held the silver-white giant egg in his hand, his expression more serious than ever. He looked up at the warrior. “Comrade, I hope you can entrust this Abyssal Sea derivative to me… After this beast tide ends, I need to return to the Imperial Capital and use this as evidence to inform His Majesty the Emperor of the hidden danger within the Five-Colored Dragon Clan. This is a matter concerning the entire human race, even the whole world.”
Joshua had brought this thing out precisely for this purpose. He naturally agreed readily. “No problem. Take it.”
Watching the blonde swordsman carefully stow away the egg, Joshua couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional.
In his past life as a player, although the warrior had built a powerful war band, there was still a gap in foundation compared to the Imperial Royal Family and the councilor families. Although players were part of the historical process, they couldn’t understand such deep matters.
Especially at this point in time. In his past life, this was just after the end of the first version of the game and the beginning of the second. The player factions hadn’t yet taken shape and had no truly reliable sources of information. Many plot details that could have been deeply explored were mostly overlooked due to the lack of strength at the time.
But now, while Joshua knew a great deal of future information, he also learned many secrets of the past. Correlating the two, he could deduce more and more things.
(It seems that in the past life, when the God of Might and Justice acted to help the Metal Dragon God knock the Five-Color Dragon God down to the mortal world, and when the Church of the Seven Gods exterminated the Abyssal Demon Dragons, the reason was also partly to remove the seeds of Chaos within this world.)
Thinking this, the warrior couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement: (This mess in the Black Forest is indeed very deep, but it’s also very interesting.)
This world truly never lacked opponents to fight.
“That Divine Mechanism, there’s no need to maintain a weapon form all the time. Take a short rest.”
Putting away the Abyssal Sea derivative, Brandon looked at Joshua’s right hand, at the silver-white greatsword that had been tightly gripped all along. He kindly reminded him, “I am also one of the seal guardians. There’s no need to maintain the Divine Mechanization state.”
“You’re wrong, friend. This one isn’t a ‘sir’; it’s a ‘lady.’”
Joshua curled his lips and shook his head. “But you’re right about one thing… Ying, deactivate Divine Mechanization.”
“…Yes, Master.”
With a flash of mana radiance, a displeased-sounding girl’s voice spoke. As the light faded, the figure of the Divine Mechanism Girl appeared before the two of them.
“…Hmph.”
After returning to human form, the first thing Ying did was glare fiercely at Brandon. Then she silently walked to Joshua’s side and slightly behind him, expressionless and silent.
“…”
Completely baffled, the blonde swordsman was no fool. He realized he was clearly being disliked but couldn’t figure out why.
Was it because he had mistaken her gender earlier? That shouldn’t be it… In all previous generations, the vast majority of Divine Mechanisms had male appearances. Weapons didn’t show gender, so guessing wrong was normal. And it was just one mistake about gender. She couldn’t be that petty, could she?
Brandon was quite frustrated. He didn’t intend to offend this Lady Divine Mechanism. They were all comrades in the fight against Chaos; there was no need to make the relationship so strained.
The silver-haired girl was also extremely frustrated. She had finally been used by her master, and for such a long time, killing so many enemies. She had thought this blissful time could last a while longer, but this blonde swordsman had interrupted it.
Joshua didn’t speak. He recalled various pieces of information in his mind, his expression blank.
And Ying, adopting an attitude of ‘if the master doesn’t speak, I won’t speak either,’ quietly stayed behind the warrior. Brandon immediately noticed that the spiral staircase had fallen into silence, and he himself seemed to have nothing to say.
Thump, thump, thump—
Hurried footsteps came, breaking the awkwardness.
“Lord Brandon!”
A city guard’s voice came from the stairway entrance, sounding a bit out of breath. “The Lady has awakened!”