CHAPTER 187: ACT 24 LION HEART SWORD_2

Brand did not reply. He thought Albton sounded truthful, but he wouldn’t trust easily. He pondered what Jade Lake, Holy White Mountain, and Stone in Stone exactly were.

He suddenly noticed the phrase about the silent dual-faced statue and shuddered uncontrollably.

The silent dual-faced statue - could it be referring to the stone sage in the southern basin of Jandener? The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. If the revelation was on that stone sage, it would indeed be troublesome. To make the stone sage speak, they would at least need the Sage Stone Tablet.

But where could they get the Sage Stone Tablet? The nearest one should arrive in Brags in about half a month, and its black-market price was fifty thousand Thor, not a small sum at all.

The only consolation was that the basin where the stone sage was located was in the same direction as his next goal, which would save a lot of time. Brand didn’t have much time left.

With these thoughts settled, he sat upright on his horse and asked, "Is that all you have to say?"

Albton nodded, "I have one more request."

"Speak."

Brand looked back and saw that, under the command of Reto and Mano, the battle in the valley was nearing its end.

Albton unzipped the badge on his chest and said, "I hope to die like a true knight, at least let my sword and armor always accompany me—this badge is called the Lion Badge, it possesses powerful magic. It means nothing to me now, so I’ll pass it on to you—also, this is my pouch, there are some things in it that might be useful to you."

Brand knew that if he wanted, he could take the Pale Tooth as well, as he had intended to give that sword to Frey. But looking at this ’White Knight,’ he ultimately nodded.

Both of them knew that compared to promises between a dead person and a living one, mutual trust was more significant. Albton probably said so much because he trusted him. Just for that reason, Brand wouldn’t break his word.

Naturally.

Albton had to die. The refugees wouldn’t tolerate living with a high-ranking Undead leader—

Brand took the badge and glanced at it. The brass surface was engraved with a lion’s face, "Lion Badge, Conflict Aura +1." A skill badge! Brand was almost shocked enough to drop the badge. Conflict Aura was a core skill of Holy Temple Knights, with a maximum of level 29. Non-core users could only train it to level 10. It initially added 1 point of protection, with each level up to 10 adding an extra 0.5 points, and each level after 10 adding 1 point, with an arithmetic progression of protection points starting from level 20.

Therefore, a level 21 Conflict Aura would add 2 points of protection, level 22 would add 3 points, and so on. Originally, the skill would add 10 points at level 29, but with this badge adding an extra level, it would give a total of 11 extra points of protection.

What concept is 11 points of protection? Approximately equivalent to 14mm of frontal armor, nearly the defense of three sets of full body plate armor.

The moment Brand took hold of this badge, he decided on his development path—Templar Knight! Because he knew that there was a suit of full steel armor that also added +1 Conflict Aura skill, and there was a Fierce Lion Shield that added another +1 Conflict Aura. Together, after advancing to a Templar Knight, he could get nearly an extra 40 points of protection.

That would be a moving fortress. Not only for himself, but for all the soldiers within a 60-foot radius of him, they would be comparable to tanks. What would that mean on the battlefield?

Brand suddenly remembered Albton in his prime, wearing full steel armor. No wonder, later on in Madara, he was renowned among the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse for his terrifying defense. Conqueror Albton, truly deserving of the title, Conqueror Albton charging in battles.

Though his heart was in turmoil, his face remained composed. After many days of life-and-death experiences, Brand felt he had matured compared to before. In the game, if he had obtained such a badge, he wouldn’t know how to contain his excitement.

He put away the badge, then opened Albton’s pouch to have a look. But he quickly found that the White Knight’s collection was not rich; mostly low-level materials. The most valuable were a few pieces of refined gold — the material for crafting full steel armor. It seemed the future Horseman of the Apocalypse had already begun planning, being well aware of the badge’s strength.

Brand couldn’t help but look up at Albton.

"No other requests?" he asked.

Albton shook his head, "Please, proceed."

Brand knew that if he let it die alone here, it would be dishonorable. A knight should at least die at the enemy’s hand on the battlefield, returning to the Earth’s embrace. Though he had no time for a full burial, he could at least fulfill Albton’s prior wish.

Char drew his sword and stepped forward, but Brand stopped him.

With sweat covering his face, Brand drew the Elf Sword, and he and Albton exchanged a glance. Then he rode his horse over, bent down with difficulty, and drove the sword into Albton’s chest.

Albton cracked a smile, the flames in its eyes flickered once.

"I have said so much with the memories of my life, young man."

"Because until my last breath, I am still Albton of Madara."

"I may owe you a debt of gratitude for releasing me—"

The Undead Knight sighed, "But at the same time, I die as a noble of the dark. Eternal Madara, the symbol of immortal fire, I just didn’t expect to lose..."

The Soul Fire in its eyes finally dimmed.

The ’White Knight’ Albton was truly dead. Brand understood that from this moment on, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse in Madara ceased to exist. He quietly watched the remains and then the silver glow that rose from it, merging into his body. It felt like the gentle warmth soaked through his entire being—a sensation he had never had from absorbing experience before, but at this moment, Brand understood. That was strength, pure soul strength.

From this over level 30 commander, he gained as much as 1,300 experience points. Adding the points from previous battles since killing Sasar, he had nearly 2,000 points of experience within these few hours.

It seemed upgrading would be more than sufficient, but Brand didn’t do it. He suppressed the urge, knowing he needed to reserve experience for the future. After all, he had much to do after the war. He looked up at the sky, where the clouds had dispersed, revealing the cross-shaped constellation shining on the black night.

The King’s Throne.

Then he raised the White Deer Statue in his hand, seeing the graceful creature showcase its form on a hill near him before disappearing to the northeast.

Brand turned and saw Reto approaching on horseback.

"We discovered many zombies on both hills..." Reto whispered.

"I understand, there’s not much difference in time." Brand calmly replied, "So, let the refugees move quickly. Because in other words, we don’t have much time to waste either."

...

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