Faena suddenly tugged at his sleeve, and Brando turned around. "You want to go there?" She mouthed the question and pointed at the street in the center of the ruins that was covered with intertwined vines.
Brando nodded.
"You're crazy," Faena looked at him in disbelief: "Wait, are you going to use that cloak?"
[If that cloak works, then I'll use it.] Brando thought to himself. [But a certain Alzheimer's patient didn't even give me the incantation to activate it. Who knows how to use it?]
He shook his head.
Faena looked at him in confusion, but the youth had already gestured for her to stay. Then he crouched down and crawled out of the ruins.
His actions caused Faena to jump in fright. She watched as he crawled to a spot less than ten feet away from the ruins and stopped. She was so frightened that she opened her mouth but did not dare to make a single sound.
But Brando did not lose his mind. He knew the consequences of sneaking out like this. Even though he had some experience in stealth, he knew that he was far from being able to match up to the truly powerful Nightingales and Rangers.
Even if they were ten levels lower than Andesha, they could not guarantee that they would not be discovered by a monster like Andesha. This was especially so in the forest, and there was no need to talk about him.
Brando knew his own limits, and he was just observing from afar. In the forest, he could not come to a conclusion just by looking at it from afar. He did not have the habit of wasting time, so he could only choose to take the risk.
He hesitated as he laid prone on the ground. His gaze passed through the shrubs and landed on the ruins not far away. His mind spun rapidly as he tried to think of a way to safely pass through the ruins.
[But that's a bit of a fantasy. Andesha isn't an idiot. Since she's here, it means that she has a hundred percent chance of finding me.] Brando stared at the ruins without a clue, and a few unrelated thoughts floated into his mind.
[If this is a game, then there should be a way to complete the quest, right?]
Brendel suddenly felt a flash of inspiration in his mind. He recalled some things that happened in the game in the past. He vaguely remembered that when The Amber Sword was first released for testing, this game caused a sensation because it was very different from traditional games.
This was because most games were designed to test the players. However, no matter how difficult a mission was, it still had to leave a way for the players to complete it.
In a simple game, the path was smooth. In a difficult game, the path was full of thorns.
But a path full of thorns was still a path at the very least.
The Amber Sword, on the other hand, used a completely different design philosophy. The game pursued the greatest degree of realism. There was a famous quote from the game's designer:
There is no path in the forest, you have to rely on your courage and wisdom to open it.
Therefore, The Amber Sword didn't have a quest that was impossible to complete. Just like the joke in the Emerald Summit, 'The design team actually designed a drop list for the Emerald Dragon, but they could have omitted it.' Because the Emerald Dragon has always been known as the world's leader that can never be killed.
(Note: Because it has the only highest level of 'Eternity' in the entire world of Wohnde, the Emerald Dragon is defined as existing in countless parallel universes at the same time. Therefore, it can't be killed at any place at any time. This is almost equivalent to being immortal. Therefore, it is called the Immortal in The Amber Sword, which is a boss that can't be killed. Therefore, the drop list that the players jokingly call meaningless, because it will never be used.)
But this was the concept of The Amber Sword. The designer gave it the possibility of being real. Although the players initially called this reality as making things difficult, they eventually accepted this design concept.
'If The Amber Sword wasn't the only VR game in the world at that time, it would have been abandoned by the players a long time ago. What the players pursued was gameplay and not logic.' Brendel could not help but think absentmindedly.
Because of this, he suddenly vaguely felt that he had grasped the idea.
If the game's original intention was to provide a possibility of being real, it may seem to be making things difficult for the players, but in fact, it was abandoning the 'one or only few paths' of the past games.
If there was no such thing as a 'strategy', then create your own 'strategy'. This was the so-called spirit of The Amber Sword.
Brando took a deep breath. He finally thought of a way. If he couldn't complete the quest perfectly, then abandoning the pawn to save the cart was not necessarily a bad choice. He looked to the side, then calmed down and carefully retraced his steps.
But as soon as he stepped out of the bushes, the first thing he saw was Vahina looking at him with a pale face, as if he had done something unforgivable.
"My life will be shortened by at least ten years if I'm with you!" She glared at him and said.
"If that's the case, I'm afraid I'll die prematurely later." Brendel glanced at her and replied.
"W-what do you mean?"
"Do you see that ruin over there? We'll use it as a cover to sneak past it. I've looked carefully just now, that's the most likely path, the others are basically dead ends."
Brando explained his thoughts clearly, but Vahina looked at the direction he was pointing at and opened her mouth.
"That looks good, but country bumpkin, didn't you notice that there's no cover at the end? We'll definitely be discovered no matter what, right?!" She couldn't help but raise her eyebrows and refute: "I say, that woman is one of the twelve Patriarchs of the Tree Herders, don't treat her like an idiot. Her appearance here means that she's confident in catching us!"
"Of course I know, I've noticed it too." Brando shook his head: "But I know that she's not going to treat us as idiots after her previous experience. Since that's the case, she won't pay too much attention to that direction."
"I understand the logic of doing the opposite," Vahina frowned: "But what's the use of sneaking past the first half? The second half is a flat field, she'll discover us even if she's not paying attention."
Brando did not reply. He knew that there was no such thing as perfection. But he had to think of a way to solve half of the problem first, and the rest would be up to him.
It was impossible for him to not take any risks at this point in time, and he didn't have much time to waste. Even with William's help, it was still a question of how long the Druids outside could last.
So he shook his head.
"Hey!" Vahina was so anxious that she almost shouted. She grabbed Sifrid who was beside her: "Sifrid, you have to persuade your big brother. This lunatic wants to commit suicide, I don't want to accompany him!"
Sifrid looked at the two of them and shook her head. She had no intention of objecting. Brando's decision was her decision.
Vahina was speechless.
"You can stay behind." Brando said. He had no reason to bring her along, especially when it looked like they were going to their deaths.
But the princess of Flowerleaf hesitated. She didn't know why, but she felt a little flustered. She should have agreed, but she looked at Brando and Sifrid and lost her temper for no reason.
"No, you have to bring me along!" Vahina raised her eyebrows in anger.
Brendel could not understand the young lady's train of thought for a moment, and could not help but say in annoyance, "I say, don't you think you're a burden?"
"Who told you to leave me behind at Lady Veronica's place? You're the one who brought me here, so you have to take responsibility. Are you still a noble if you want to leave me behind? "
[I'm not a noble to begin with.] Brando almost shouted out. But he looked at Vahina's serious expression, as if she was going to follow him if he didn't agree.
He looked at Sifrid again and finally compromised. [It's the same as bringing one or two, isn't it?] Brando could not help but think that Vahina was the one who wanted to die, so she couldn't blame him if anything happened.
Therefore, he sighed and reluctantly agreed with Vahina.
Vahina glared at him and heaved a sigh of relief. It was as if she had finally gained the upper hand in this long struggle.
"Are we leaving now?" She asked.
Brando wanted to say 'I', but he could only nod in agreement. Moreover, it was indeed time for him to start moving after persuading Vahina.
If he was alone, it would be a piece of cake for him to pass through the ruins. Of course, the plaza behind him would still be a big problem.
But now that he had Vahina and Sifrid with him, the problem became much more complicated. He did not dare to let Vahina and Sifrid follow him, so he had to carry them back twice.
It was a little comical, but the truth was that even if he was carrying a person, his stealth skills were much better than Faena's when she was alone.
The first time he carried Sifrid through the ruins was very smooth. He carefully left the forest from the side where the vegetation was dense, then used a broken wall as cover to sneak into the stone house. Just as he had predicted, this direction was facing away from Andesha. She did not pay too much attention to this place because she knew that Brando would be discovered no matter how skilled he was.
After settling Sifrid down, he turned around and went back to fetch Vahina. His movements were swift, and he barely made a sound when he passed through the bushes. Vahina from Cruz was stunned by his brilliant technique.
She was quite knowledgeable, and knew very well that only the best scouts in the army could do such details. Most nobles would not learn such things, except for those with special identities.
For example, the royal family's spies.
Vahina had interacted with her father's spies before, but their skills were nothing compared to Brando's.
What she did not know was that Brando did not care about his [Stealth] skills at all. She could not imagine how terrifying the [Stealth] skills of the professional Nightingales and Rangers in the game were.
When one's [Stealth] skill reached level 10 and above, one could even deceive one's eyes. In other words, one could not even notice a person standing right in front of them.
Once one reached level 15, they would be able to grasp the legendary [Visual Concealment] skill. Disappearing in front of people was an effect that could only be achieved by magic.
Magic could dispel it, but [Stealth] could not.
The [Stealth] skill of a high level Nightingale was naturally not that simple.
Faena finally regained her senses when Brendel picked her up. She was so frightened that she almost screamed out loud, but he quickly covered her mouth with his hand to stop her from screaming.
Brendel glared at her fiercely, reminding her to be aware of the situation. Faena's face reddened. Even though this was not the first time he carried her like this, the last time was when they jumped down from a bottomless cliff. She was too frightened to think too much about it.
The second time was also when she was trying to dodge the Lernaia's attack.
She was still conscious this time, but she preferred not to be that conscious. At the very least, she would not feel so embarrassed that her face felt like it was burning.
When she finally regained her senses, Brando had already placed her behind a wall.
After several trips, Brando finally brought Sifrid and Vahina to the last part of the ruins. The plaza was right in front of them, and the rest was just like what he had said before.
It was time to risk it all!
He patted the noble lady awake and mouthed, "Are you really not going to stay? You might lose your life if you stay here. " Brando tried to scare her away one last time, but the answer he got was still negative.
He did not know what was wrong with her, but she shook her head and stared at him with determination. It was as though Cruz had never abandoned his comrades, and Brando felt that something was amiss.
"Forget it," he sighed: "I've done my best."
He then poked his head out to see how they could cross the plaza. However, his expression changed at once. In fact, he wasn't the only one — Vahina, who was with him, almost cried out in surprise.
He saw a figure in red robes standing on the other side of the plaza.
"Damn it, I knew it." Brando cursed in his mind. He thought that Andesha would at least make a mistake, even if it was not a mistake in the first place.
But he did not expect Andesha to be so meticulous. Her companion was guarding the other side of the plaza, and they did not even have the slightest chance.
Brando retreated and gritted his teeth, but he could not think of a solution.
But Vahina grabbed his hand: "This distance is already very short, why don't you try using the cloak? It should last long enough! "
[Cloak?] Brando was stunned for a moment. He then remembered that Vahina was talking about the cloak that William gave him.
He felt a little gloomy and thought that he would have used it long ago. If the cloak could hide from the Dragon King's senses like William said, then it would be a piece of cake for him to hide from Andesha.
But —
There were no ifs.
He could not help but shake off Vahina's hand. He suspected that she had lost her mind because of fear. She should have known the reason back then, or was it because William's Alzheimer's disease was contagious?
But Vahina grabbed his hand again and asked: "Hey, do you really think that thing can't be activated? Have you forgotten what I do? "
Brando was stunned: "What do you do?"
"A noble lady?"
"Go to hell," Vahina gritted her teeth and glared at him: "Bumpkin, I'm a Magic Swordsman, and analyzing incantations is my specialty!"
"Hah?" Brando was stunned: "You can do it? That thing is at least a mythical item, and the magic circles on it are very different from what we have now. If I remember correctly, you don't even have an official rank, right? "
"That's because I'm a noble." Her Royal Highness of the Flower Leaf Estate looked annoyed. "It's impossible for me to participate in the job evaluation of the Adventurers Guild. Besides, as a noble, I've learned much more than the average person."
Brando was stunned for a moment, but he suddenly felt that there was a possibility. He stopped and asked with a serious tone for the first time: "Is it really possible?"
"I don't know, but I have to try." Vahina did not dare to speak too confidently, but she was much more serious when it came to her profession, and did not put on airs like before.
Brendel nodded and handed over the cloak that was wrapped around his hand. Vahina took the cloak and felt it with her hand. It was a purely physical task, for the cloak was, as William had said, astonishingly large.
But after a few minutes, Vahina suddenly cried out in surprise. Even though her voice was soft, it almost made Brando jump in fright. He immediately turned around to look at the ruins, but fortunately, Andesha did not notice it.
He immediately turned around and glared at Vahina. If not for the fact that he was certain that it was impossible, he would have suspected that she was a spy.
This time, Vahina seemed to have realized her mistake and showed an embarrassed expression for the first time. She stuck her tongue out at him, but she still happily mouthed to Brando:
"Bumpkin, I've learned the magic circles for this thing before!"
"You've learned it before?" Brando's surprise immediately turned into joy. He did not expect such a coincidence even in his dreams. If Vahina had learned it before, then it would not be difficult to find the activation incantation.
With Martha above, he immediately felt that luck had not left him.
… … (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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