The Amber Sword volume 3 - Chapter 61

Chapter 61 – King of the underground
Just as everyone was whispering amongst themselves, a sudden thunderous voice interrupted everyone.
“Welcome to the Cathedral of Heroes, mortals!”
The voice was cold and dignified, as though it was filled with a mysterious power.
“Thou will challenge the destiny that belongs to thine; perhaps thou are just here to fight for thy survival, or maybe thou would become the king that rules the Mother Earth—”
“Now, ye lowly challengers, step out and let us see the moment where destiny is born.”
The voice echoed through the huge coliseum as though there were countless thunders, and shockwaves struck at everyone and caused them to pale. Medissa and Scarlett glanced at Brendel as he observed the entire battlefield.
He was pondering on the possible challenges he might face.
[There are different types of monster that one can face in here, but it’s dependent on the surroundings. If it’s Trentheim, then there aren’t really any famous figures around here, so it will most likely be a strong land or air monster. If it’s the upgraded version where it summons gods……]
He was secretly relieved that he did not have to fight enemies that came from legends, even if they were a lesser version. Those monsters truly made him feel goosebumps.
“We will have our duels one at a time. Let me arrange the order,” Brendel looked at the red-haired girl, “Scarlett, go ahead and group up with that worker. Both of you currently don’t have the strength of an Iron-ranked fighter, so you can be rescued as a group.”
Medissa had been confused by Scarlett’s actions for a while and was looking puzzledly at her.
“My lord, what’s wrong with Scarlett?”
“I’ll explain to you later. Ser Kodan, please go next after them.” Brendel said.
“What?” Kodan’s eyebrow was arched so high that Brendel took a second glance at him. “Are you worried that I can’t pass the challenge too?”
Brendel shrugged and looked at Medissa and spoke in his mind.
“Medissa, we will go in together.”
“Is that allowed?”
“You’re summoned by me, so we should at least try and see if the rules allow it.”
Brendel thought the challenge would be much easier if he could fight with Medissa as a group. But before he could revel in his thoughts, the surroundings suddenly changed and mechanical rumblings could be heard. Fences were raised up near the walls and revealed a row of cages, while a large stage was elevated just a few meters away from them.
Kodan frowned when he saw people in the cages.
“My lord!” Someone stood up and shouted anxiously from the cage when she saw the people in the field: “Medissa, Scarlett, I’m here!”
Brendel’s expression turned into a grimace when he looked to the direction of the voice. Jana was in one of the cages, and there were two other cages that held Cohen and his companions.
“Mister Brendel, can you help us?” Jocah shouted.
[Damn it…..]
Brendel was silent as he was in a dilemma. It was not that he did not want to rescue them, but if he attempted to do so, he would have to go through at least five challenges to save all of them. If he calculated the increase in difficulty, the final challenge would most likely be equivalent to a Gold-ranked saint.
It was not something he could gamble on.
[The highest creation from a Rune Dwarf is a living puppet that has two different types of Element Powers and stands at the peak of a Gold-ranker. This is far more superior than the Wizards Craftsmen’s Diamond Golem. The former is like a Magic Swordsman, while the latter is an ordinary brawler. This fact goes to show that the Rune Dwarves are better than them in this aspect and something that they are insanely proud of. Challenging it would be foolish.]
Brendel knew that it was difficult for Medissa and himself to engage an existence that had reached the pinnacle of a Gold-ranker. It might be doable if he combined the Wind Spirit Spiders and rushed in as a group, but that hope was still small.
He could only remain silent.
“Go ahead, Scarlett. There’s no need to force yourself, just proclaim that you surrender in the stage once your opponent appears!”
“But what about commander Jana…….” Scarlett’s voice was lowered when she saw Brendel’s hesitation.
“I’ll definitely save her. Go.”
She nodded, one hand holding tightly to her halberd, and the other dragging the worker who had already fainted once he heard that he had to go into a duel.
The crowd around them immediately exploded into applause and wild cheers. Brendel listened carefully and realized that the audience was constantly yelling ‘Glory! Glory! Glory!’. Even though he knew that that was nothing than a fake scene, he could not help but feel slightly tense in his mind.
“Does this place make you afraid, Medissa?” He glanced in the Elven girl’s direction.
“My lord, I’m an undead and we are not affected by fear,” Medissa replied with a smile.
Brendel immediately felt his face burn up for forgetting that simple fact. Thus he stopped talking and watched the gate in the walls opposite of them slowly open.
A frightening monster suddenly leaped out from there, with numerous chains flailing violently behind it. The beast quickly descended to the center stage, ready to attack the red-haired girl, but the chains suddenly reached the limits of their length and jerked the monster back like a whip. An explosive crash happened and a dust cloud covered the field, but the beast once again reappeared in an instant and strained itself against the shaking chains while uttering low guttural growls.
“What creature is that?” Kodan stared at the monster and asked.
Brendel watched the monster’s three heads snarl and snapped at each other in frustration. It was over four meters tall and there were occasional roars emitted from its throat like peals of thunder. Very quickly, the coliseum was filled with a sulfur odor.
“It’s a Cerberus,” Medissa replied.
“The monsters of the sulfur rivers which followed the Dragon of Darkness once upon a time,” the Elven princess whispered, “I have fought against them in the battlefield before; they were truly troublesome foes—”
“What battlefield?” Kodan looked a little puzzledly at the Elven girl, wondering what sort of place she had to be in to fight this monstrosity.
Medissa turned her back to Kodan with a smile: “The War of the Holy Saints—”
Kodan’s mouth and eyes widened in shock. He instinctively felt that Medissa was joking, and instantly appeared like a cunning little girl.
“It’s fortunate that it’s not an Elite Hound Lord guarding the entrance of Hell. It should be fine if you’re careful since it only has the strength of a strong Silver-ranked fighter, but make sure you avoid its Breath Attacks.” Brendel also faced Kodan and said.
“Boy, are you teaching me what to do?” Kodan immediately realized that Brendel was instructing him.
“My only wish that I don’t have to rescue one more person.”
“Hmph! That’s because you haven’t seen my real capabilities, brat,” The old man stroked his sword, “you should worry more about yourself.”
Kodan was almost in a huff when he spoke. He felt that he was down on his luck. Getting ambushed, then injured by Medissa, nearly dying because of the sudden earthquake which caused boulders to bury him. It was shameful for a veteran Gold-ranker like himself to fall for such petty tricks.
However, even if he was injured now, handling a Silver-ranked monster was not a problem for him. Even if it was a Gold-ranked creature, they typically had low intelligence and did not possess many techniques. He was going to vent his frustration on these grunts.
He even eyed Brendel: “Do you want me to rescue someone from the cages, boy?”
“There’s no need to. I’ll rescue them on my own,” Brendel quickly shook his head.
[This old man really don’t know how dangerous this event is. The Coliseum of Destiny raises the challenge every single time. It’s a Cerberus now, and the next challenge would most likely be the equivalent of a Mountain Giant.]
Kodan scoffed lightly, almost as if he was displeased with Brendel’s opinion of him.
“What’s your name, boy?” He suddenly said.
Brendel had his mind filled with the situation in front of him and answered out of reflex: “Sop…… Brendel.”
He managed to stop himself from making a mistake and glared at him: “Why do you ask, Ser Kodan? Do you want to seek revenge by finding out my name?”
But the old man did not reply with sarcasm or condescension. He merely repeated the name twice.
“Brendel? Brendel……” He suddenly mysteriously laughed out once and regarded Brendel with a bizarre expression.
Brendel’s hand went to his sword instinctively. If this old man suddenly went crazy in this place, it would absolutely spell disaster.
Just as Brendel was on his guard, there was a change in the stage. Scarlett had slapped the worker awake and got him to surrender, and she did the same. Before the Cerberus freed itself from the chains, they were both sent to a nearby cage in a flash of white light.
“Scarlett!” Jana was shocked to find the young girl locked up like her. The latter had fiery red hair just like her, and she was reminded of her younger sister.
“What’s wrong? Why didn’t you fight?” She asked with concern.
“I’m sorry. I’m injured.” Scarlett said with a disappointed expression.
Jana frowned sadly. “Those workers were trapped in the cages and asked for my help when I came to this place, so I asked that mysterious voice a few questions. Every challenge that one clears would allow an imprisoned companion or group in the cage to be released, but the difficulty increases every time. Unfortunately, I failed on my very first attempt—”
She sighed and said softly: “It’s a question as to whether that young noble is willing to rescue us. Nobles wouldn’t risk their lives for this pile of horseshit……”
When she thought about this point, she sat down in slight despair at a corner. She was more concerned about her mercenaries rather than her own life. If she fell here, Cornelius and Raban would surely take advantage of them.
However, Scarlett did not reply Jana while the latter worried about her fate. She merely looked at Brendel and somehow felt that he would rescue both of them, surely.
At this point in time, Brendel watched Kodan march with large strides toward the stage.
The old man’s face was stoic as he brandished his sword with a single hand. There was no fear in his eyes as he glared at the creature. Just before he reached the final step to the stage, he suddenly turned around and said:
“Tsk. The arrogant brat from Torbus’s lineage, I’ll let you see what real swordsmanship look like, otherwise there would be no end to your arrogance.”
Brendel blanked out upon hearing his words.
That was because Torbus was his grandfather’s given name.
TL: In case I ever forget…… Said grandfather’s name is Torbus Darius Cadirosso, and Brendel is well, Brendel Cadirosso.