Ampere Seale was shrouded in a strange atmosphere. Far away in the south, Tónigel was also shrouded in a similar atmosphere.
After returning to his territory, Brando immediately called for an emergency meeting. The meeting was held in a forest not far from New Valhalla. The Tree Elves had planted a square there that was surrounded by ten ancient banyan trees. Brando was quite fond of that place, so he temporarily used it as a meeting place. Because he had informed them beforehand, he had gathered almost all of his core members, including those who had followed him since Fortress Riedon.
Gaspard, Taron, Mano, Retto, and Batom were all members of the Red Bronze Dragon Mercenary Group. Even though Gaspard was the captain of the Fortress Riedon's security cavalry, he had also joined the group since Fortress Riedon. Only Taron was a little special. He was originally the Sergeant Major of the White-Mane Infantry Regiment, but because of various reasons, he joined the group. In the eyes of the world, he was a traitor.
Brando stood under an ancient banyan tree and looked at these people. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
There were a few familiar faces in the Red Bronze Dragon Mercenary Group that he couldn't see anymore. A few of the older members had passed away due to illness during the long migration, and most of the remaining members had died during the Second Tónigel War. However, the will of the dead seemed to have been passed on to the living, and the remaining people had become stronger and more resolute.
This change was obvious.
Gaspard used to be the lackey of the nobles in Fortress Riedon. When he first appeared in front of Brando, he was a pretty boy who looked strong on the outside but was weak on the inside. But now, because he had been outside for a long time, his skin was slightly tanned, and his face and arms were covered with battle scars. Even though he looked a lot rougher, he also looked more mature and stable. Among the refugees who migrated from Fortress Riedon, there weren't many of them, because not everyone was willing to leave their homes. Most of the people who knew this captain of the security cavalry hated and feared him, but now, there were more and more people who took the initiative to stop and call him captain.
But the most important thing was his strength. In just a short year, he had grown from a weak Iron-ranked character to an Iron-ranked one. It wasn't just Gaspard; most of the people who came out of Fortress Riedon were the same. Taron, Mano, Red Beard Batom, and Retto were the same. In just a few months, their strength had shown signs of breaking through the peak of Iron-ranked and entering the Silver-ranked.
The Sea of Magic was changing the world, but only those who had experienced life and death situations could clearly feel this change.
Brando's gaze swept past the people in Fortress Riedon and landed on another group of people — the Grey Wolves Mercenaries. These people who were abandoned by Makarov and taken in by him hadn't been with the mercenaries for long, but many of them had increased their strength to varying degrees, including Sanford. After the distribution of the Dragonblood Potion, his strength had increased to the upper Iron-ranked.
In fact, Amandina wanted to give priority to the seniors in Fortress Riedon, and the others would observe the situation. But Brando felt that it wasn't necessary. Those who had followed him through two wars were loyal and reliable. In this era, it took courage to go against the nobles. If Makarov and Graudin didn't force these mercenaries into a dead end, they wouldn't have followed him to this point.
Although the production of the Dragon Blood Potion was not high, it was obviously more convincing to distribute it based on merit rather than seniority. Besides, most of the people who followed him in the earliest batch were also people who were extremely loyal and contributed to the group. Brando used this point to convince Amandina and win the hearts of the people. Even though the Red Bronze Dragon Mercenaries received the most Dragonblood Potions, at least the others could see that everyone had an equal opportunity in this group. Even the latecomers had a chance to surpass the seniors in the group.
As long as one's hard work was rewarded, they would be filled with motivation. Brando's action was to maintain the vitality of the mercenaries. He had been the leader of The Amber Sword for a period of time, and had a certain understanding of modern organizations. Compared to the nobles of this era, his vision was naturally much more advanced.
In the eyes of this noble lady from Braggs, her lord's suggestion had an astonishing effect that she didn't expect at all. The people's hearts were more stable and cohesive. This change was within her expectations, but she could faintly feel that there was something more in the mercenaries. Like a soul, everyone became more motivated. The new members were working hard, and the old members felt a sense of crisis. Even she was affected by the atmosphere and became more energetic during the day.
This change was subtle, and it formed a virtuous cycle in the Abies. Amandina, who had learned about the arts of the Emperor from the ancient inheritance of the Neson Family, was secretly shocked. She knew that this kind of atmosphere was something that many nobles and even monarchs couldn't achieve, but her lord seemed to have done it with just a wave of his hand.
Amandina thought about it carefully. Even though she had always been conceited, she couldn't help but admit that she couldn't do it. She always had to consider loyalty and not justice. She felt that she couldn't understand why Brando could always ignore this point. Was her young lord not afraid of nurturing talents for his opponents? It was a common thing to change sides in this era, and almost all nobles had a headache over how to maintain the loyalty of their subordinates.
But Brando never cared about it, and his mercenary group was the most loyal and cohesive one she had ever seen.
Brando's reply to her was: If you have a fair and good system, why would you worry about the people in the system going elsewhere? Loyalty isn't because of praise or favoritism, but because the group is worth it. I am confident that this group is the best choice for those who follow me. I maintain this system, and the others are loyal. It is because I have such confidence in this group that everyone can trust and rely on it.
Amandina didn't quite understand Brando's understanding, but she still remembered the calm and confident manner her lord had when he said this sentence. She had never seen such calmness and confidence in any noble before. If they come, I will welcome them. If they leave, I will not stop them. She felt that perhaps only such a mind could create such a unique group with such charm.
It was a group where everyone, even someone as vile as Gaspard, could find a place for themselves.
Amandina slowly walked into the banyan tree square with these thoughts in mind. She couldn't help but raise her head to look at Brando who was not far away, and happened to meet the young lord's gaze. "There are more and more girls around my lord. Even the boys like Mephistopheles look cuter than me." Amandina didn't know why, but a strange thought suddenly flashed through her mind. Her heart that had calmed down because she didn't want to compete with the little Roman began to fluctuate inexplicably again.
"Maybe there is a chance."
Brando was half leaning on the banyan tree, and when he saw Amandina enter, he couldn't help but smile. Of course, he noticed Amandina's gaze, but he only thought that she was reminding him to pay attention to his appearance as a lord and a noble of the kingdom. He could almost imagine Amandina's tone when she said this, and when he thought of Amandina's serious look, he couldn't help but smile.
Amandina was always so serious, but there was also a special kind of cuteness in it.
Brando couldn't help but comment on the girl, but he quickly reacted and hurriedly shook his head to throw this thought out of his mind. It seemed that ever since he was kissed by the deer demoness who had the same name as the Goddess of Fate in the tomb, something strange in his heart became restless. Speaking of which, the current Brando was only nineteen years old, almost twenty years old, and Sophie in his previous life was still a high-ranked sorcerer. Therefore, at this moment, he was still somewhat ignorant of the feelings between men and women, and was filled with the curiosity of a teenager.
He patted his head to clear his mind, and his gaze moved from Amandina to the others. At this moment, the people on the field entered one after another, and almost everyone was present. Brando only then noticed that his subordinates had unknowingly formed such a large group.
Scarlet, Mephistopheles, Metisha, and the new vampire girl Andrique were beside him. A little further away, there was Ropar, The Shire and its Fireclaw Spearmen, as well as the Fire Djinn who was communicating with a group of Wind Spirits and Light Spirits. These guys were all creatures of the Elemental Realm, and although they almost didn't interact with each other in this realm, they could still be considered to have a common language. Then there was Kodan, Carglise, Meria, and the young officers of the White Lion Infantry forming a circle. These people's experiences in the Dark Forest had cultivated a comrade-like relationship with each other.
The two Pristine Archangels stood together with the Roman. They were now almost exclusively the Roman's personal bodyguards, and the aura of death on their bodies had disappeared. In fact, on the way back, Brando had summoned the Book of Life and Death, and removed it from the battlefield to retrieve all the cards from the graveyard. Currently, the Book of Life was on cooldown, and the Graveyard Resurrection Cards were also removed from the attached state and returned to the deck. Brando did this mainly to prepare for the trip to Ampere Seale, but he also knew that he might not be able to use the Book of Life for the entire trip to Ampere Seale. But after weighing the pros and cons, the cards in the graveyard were more important.
Although the Book of Life was the core card of the Paradise of Purity, but in reality, after the Paradise of Adversity was combined into one, the Book of Life only strengthened the defense of the deck on the field. As a Planeswalker, Brando actually had many ways to restore his HP. At the very least, the various types of holy water that he obtained from Amman in the Dimensional Cave were probably the first in history.
At the very least, that was the amount of supplies that Amman had prepared for an army.
Further away were Raban, Jutta, Cornelius, and their subordinates. They stood together with the Nightsong Tiger and Rocco of the Mercenaries of Lopes. On the other side were the Red Bronze Dragon Mercenaries. Lastly, the villagers of the Green Village stood together with the Druids and Tree Elves. Sifrid was like a fish in water in that circle. She had been living with her father for a while, and Brando did not want her to be estranged from her family and the villagers because of the Druids.
Brando raised his head. There were still Subterrane Dwellers in the forest. Tagiv was doing well under his command, and the Subterrane Dweller had expressed his willingness to submit to him several times. The Subterrane Dwellers were not looked down upon like the Subterrane Dwellers. On the contrary, many people who were loyal to the Subterrane Dwellers treated them as protectors. Before the Tree Elves joined, the Subterrane Dwellers were indeed Brando's strongest force.
It was not easy to meet these people in the forest. Amandina was in charge of agricultural production in the Macsen region, but she rarely appeared in the Abies. The winter crops in Tónigel were growing and growing, and Brando knew nothing about it. However, Amandina was an expert. The agriculture in Wohnde relied on magic, and the Wizards and Monks of the Holy Cathedral played an important role in it. Fortunately, the Monks of the Holy Cathedral would not work for the rebels. Fortunately, Brando had the Druids under his command, and they were far better at farming than the Monks of the Holy Cathedral of Fire.
But when these people gathered together, Brando realized that his wings were slowly growing.
He could not help but count. Scarlet, Mephistopheles, Metisha, and Ropar were four Gold-ranked Wizards. There were also The Shire and Andrique, two Gold-ranked Wizards. Kodan and the Fire Deity were also Lower Gold-ranked Wizards. Including himself, there were a total of nine Gold-ranked Wizards, and this did not include the Tree Elves and the Druids. In terms of numbers alone, they were second only to Aouine's Duke Arreck and Duke Seifer, who were renowned Dukes.
Brando remembered that there were a total of twenty-two Gold-ranked Wizards serving the Royal Family of Erouine. However, not all of them followed the Royal Faction of the South, and some of them joined the King's eldest son, House Seifer's camp. In other words, the Royal Family only had a dozen or so Gold-ranked Wizards. This could be said to be the strength of Erouine's country, and they were not much stronger than him. In terms of quality, they were inferior.
Brando's Gold-ranked Wizards, except for Kodan and the Fire Deity, were all Middle-ranked and above. Metisha even had the strength of an Upper Gold-ranked Wizard. After Scarlet converted the Dragon Bloodline, she reached the pinnacle of Gold-ranked Wizards. After the Trap Vampire received the sacrifice, he was Elemental Awakening, and was only a step away from breaking through the Elemental Barrier. In Wohnde, Elemental Awakening was recognized as the strength of an Elemental Wizard.
Further down, the Silver and Iron-ranked Wizards were also fully fledged. Brando counted three of them: the Mercenaries of Lopes, the Pristine Angels, the Fireclaw Spearmen, Carglise and his little lover, Meria. Then there was the Mercenary Corps and the Tree Elves Alliance that came out of the Black Forest with him. There were hundreds of them, and the leader of the Fireclaw Army, Vern, had reached the pinnacle of Silver, and was about to reach the strength of a Gold-ranked Wizard.
It was worth mentioning that Brando's own 'Garuru Rock Beasts' had hundreds of Silver-ranked Black Wolves, which were also a hidden force.
Below the Silver-ranked, the Red Bronze Dragon Mercenaries were the main force, and a large number of Iron-ranked Wizards formed the backbone of the army. Below them were Uriel, the old dwarf Odum, the Wind Spirit Drake, the Cave Dwellers, and the Shadow Beasts. Even the Alchemist Tamar had recently reached the strength of an Iron-ranked Wizard. Other than a few who acted cute and were purely civil servants, such as Roman and Amandina, Brando's forces were almost full of talents.
The only shortcoming was that they lacked the highest level of combat power. The princess's side at least had Buga and Fleetwood who were Elemental Awakened, and the hidden Elemental Awakened power of the Royal Family of Covardo would definitely be more than that. As for the Duke's side, Arreck had two Elemental Awakened retainers, the Duke's army in the north had three, Viero had one, and Karsuk had two (one of which was a Wizard). Compared to these forces, Brando's top combat power was a little lacking.
Other than the Ash Sword Saint, but Greysword Saint-mephistopheles was still not considered a member of his group after all.
If Brando wanted to win the battle at the Elemental Awakened level, the only thing he could think of was the Golden Battle Flag. Although there were many restrictions, as long as he placed it on the battlefield, he would at least have the strength to contend with Erouine and the other Dukes.
At this time, the noisy scene had quieted down. Everyone was present, and everyone's eyes were looking in this direction, waiting to see what this exceedingly young lord wanted to say to suddenly gather them. At this time, Brando recovered from his thoughts. His gaze slowly swept across the audience, and in a short moment, his thoughts became clear again.
"First, let's talk about the recent events." Brando first looked at Amandina.
What he wanted to say next was about the trip to Ampere Seale. But it was not time yet, and he needed to prepare. This matter was related to the entire group and the future of the territory. Brando thought that it was time to let these people who followed him understand his thoughts. What was Erouine's future? He did not know how many people would agree with this, but after a period of subtle influence, Brando also wanted to see the results.
How many people had the same ideals as him, and how many people wanted to save this ancient kingdom that had once written its glory on its flag?
… … …
"My sword points forward, the first generation of nobles of Erouine trace back the ancient glory, and advance along the path of the ancient sages."
— — King Erik
(PS: Two days ago, I stopped to organize my thoughts about Ampere Seale. Brando will definitely go to Ampere Seale to change history. After all, this is the goal he has been preparing for all this time, and it is also the meaning of his life. However, it is easy for one person to go against the huge inertia of the entire history and destiny. The difficult thing is how to bear the pressure and responsibility that comes after the change. This is what Brando has to consider as a man.
The decaying kingdom is collapsing in an unstoppable manner. Can Brando protect everything he wants to protect under this collapsing edifice, and build a new Erouine from the ruins? I hope to experience this completely different future with 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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