Brand carefully scrutinized the two people before him; only after quite a while did he pick up the envelope on the table again, glance at it, and then ask the Female Knight:
"Lady Laurenna, may I ask—when did the Cruz people first become aware of this matter?"
Laurenna looked at him, was briefly taken aback, then realized what he was asking. She furrowed her brow and replied with an entirely official expression: "Two months ago, Lord."
This question and answer referred precisely to the second matter raised in Veronica’s letter to him. Compared to the first, which barely scratched an itch, this second issue struck Brand as far more troublesome.
The story had to be traced back to the Battle of Ambeser. In that war, the Eruein finally shattered three Flame Gates, driving the Demons back to their old lairs beneath the River of Sulfur—of course, Brand had personally experienced that part of the story as well. After the Demon army was routed, they scattered and fled, only to be completely dispersed by the Silver Elves and the Highland Knights, as well as the craftsman wizards who arrived later.
But a small portion still survived, slipping into the wilds and mountains of Erune. It was this small remnant that created a massive headache for the Cruz people.
Originally, once the Cruz people had, for the sake of saving face, fully withdrawn from Ampezel Port, the entire affair should have come to an end.
Yet no one could have imagined that history would unfold as it later did.
Around the Flower Moon, after monks from the Flame Temple had finished thoroughly clearing the battlefield, they discovered that all three Flame Gates were missing parts of varying sizes. These missing pieces of the Flame Gates were quickly sent back to Cruz for identification by the high-level Priests; yet half a month later, news confirming a nightmare that shrouded the entire Flame Temple arrived.
The missing portions from the three Flame Gates were almost exactly enough to assemble a new Teleportation Gate.
At that point, the situation was perfectly clear. It meant that at least one band—or perhaps several bands—of Demons, cave-dwellers, Cultists, or some similar creatures from the Underground of Qiao Gen Digan had taken these fragments and were preparing to do something decidedly unpleasant within the borders of Erune.
To the Flame Temple, this was nothing short of a ridiculous joke.
Or rather, it was like a resounding slap across the Flame Temple’s face. Even Brand couldn’t help but feel a mix of tears and laughter when he read the news, let alone anyone else—although the Flame Temple being infiltrated by the All Things Return to One was an almost open secret, he had not imagined that the other side’s rot had reached such a level.
No wonder the core of power in the Cruz Empire was tilting more and more toward Royal Authority with each passing day. Faced with such a festering opponent, it was genuinely difficult for Her Majesty the Silver Queen not to win.
Brand silently pondered for a moment, then shook the letter in his hand. By now he was almost certain that Veronica must be losing sleep and appetite over this. If she had any choice, that Lord Legion Commander would probably rather not have had this letter delivered to him at all; the Cruz people likely hadn’t lost face on this scale for centuries—and this time, they were losing face repeatedly.
The problem, however, was that a group was currently roaming around with these Teleportation Gate Fragments and could, at any time, locate an Energy core to rebuild the Gate. Veronica could not simply look the other way.
For Erune, this was not exactly a serious problem—after all, if they could deal with three Gates, there was no reason they couldn’t take down a single incomplete, makeshift Teleportation Gate. For the Flame Temple, however, it was a major catastrophe, regardless of when or where these Cultists chose to set up that Gate.
Even if they built it in some random pigsty in the countryside of Erune, the Flame Temple probably wouldn’t be able to lift its head in front of the other Great Temples for at least half a century. As for any Holy War—better to forget it now; they might as well hang up a "no war" sign and hand over the spoils already in their grasp—perhaps that would even be the wiser course.
Besides, matters of face were secondary; the real blow lay in the damage to the Flame Temple’s reputation, which would inevitably shake many people’s faith. Brand had never believed that the Temple’s most numerous followers—the peasants and craftsmen—possessed particularly firm belief; and once faith collapses, it is very hard to rebuild.
Yet even that was not the worst of it. For the Cruz people, the direst possibility was that these Cultists would carry the Gate Fragments back into the Cruz Empire. Martha above, the mere thought of that scenario was enough to give the Flame Temple’s upper echelons nightmares every night.
Not to mention the prospect of the Demons getting hold of the Fragments for study and replication—although the likelihood was slim, if they succeeded, the Temple’s leadership would have no choice but to atone with their lives.
If the situation had not been this grave, the proud Lady of the Blue Sword Saint would never have hinted between the lines that he ought to place the Flame Temple’s interests first. To be blunt, as an Eruein, Brand was quite happy to see the Cruz people make fools of themselves, but Veronica’s wording clearly showed that she hoped he would lend a hand for the sake of their past friendship.
As for who currently held the most real power in the Southern Territory of Erune, it was naturally he and the Princess, backed by the Highland Knights, Duke Lantoniyan, and the Southern Army. That was why this letter had been sent to him and Princess Griffine.
Thinking of Veronica, Brand couldn’t help but sigh.
To be honest, that Female Legion Commander of the Cruz Empire had left him with a fairly good impression. And then there was Faina; he knew that, beneath her overbearing exterior, that young lady actually regarded him as a friend.
"After you made the discovery, did the Dome Blue Army immediately enter Erune?" he thought for a moment and then asked.
"No. In fact, it was a big shot from the Flame Temple who asked Lord Veronica to help. I don’t know exactly who it was either. Because the matter was so grave, even within the Empire not many people were informed." Laurenna replied.
Brand couldn’t help but shake his head. "You people knew it was serious, yet the envoy you sent seems a bit poorly chosen, don’t you think?"
The Female Knight froze for a moment, then showed a look of wanting to speak yet holding back. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast recommendation tickets and Monthly Tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)