The Amber Sword

v5c20Knights and Craftsmen(3)

"Valkyrie?" Brendel's heart thumped, Odin's maid from Norse mythology, how could he not have heard of this name? He had long suspected that since there was Valhalla, it was natural for Valkyries to exist, but unfortunately "The Amber Sword", Valhalla was finally destroyed in a fire, and the legend about it was buried under the ashes altogether. Whether they had existed or not, it was a mystery. Now that Babu has mentioned this name, Brendel felt like it was something within his expectations, but he was also excited, "Master Babu, do you mean to say that the Valurian Warrior Hall can still recruit Valkyries?"

The legendary Valkyries were said to be extremely strong. She was the chosen one of the Elite Elves, patrolling the skies on a celestial horse, a legendary existence among mythological stories. Troops as such should not be lower than the sixth rank, right? But Brendel immediately shook this thought out of his head. Valhalla was still a primary territory, even if it was the most legendary one, it was still too outrageous to recruit a sixth-rank soldier.

The fact that the Wind Archer, the first type of soldier produced in Valhalla, had a strength of up to quasi-fourth rank was already extraordinary. If it exceeded the sixth rank, it would have been a serious breach of balance in "The Amber Sword". The world should still follow the rules of the game.

So it's the fifth rank? Although this rank was a little too low for a Valkyrie, Brendel felt that this should be the most likely case. The legend was after all only a legend, not to mention that the fifth rank was still very powerful even among the more perverse types of soldiers. It was still a good match with the combat power of the sixth order. For example, Kirrlutz's Grail Knight. The Grail Knight joined with an oath to have a lifelong association with the Holy Relic. They vowed to stay poor, advocate justice and not marry. Although life as knights were very poor, they however gained strength from it. With the Holy Relic, they were able to resurrect once in the battlefield. This was the most powerful army in the known fifth ranked battle power.

Brendel thought in his mind that the Valkyries should probably also be this type of fifth ranked army, not too much to destroy the balance, but could display its power. However, the answer for all this speculation could only be answered by the Cloud Giant Godsmith Babu, so he raised his head to look at Babu.

The hall was silent as Babu turned back and called out, "Brunhilde, come out."

"Holy shit!" Brendel was stunned when he heard this name. In the Norse mythology and Icelandic epic, Brunhilde was the famous Valkyrie and there were various legends about her. Some said she was Odin's daughter, others said her image came from the Visigoth Princess, Ostricia's Brunhilde. In many games and related works in his world, she was depicted as the head of the Valkyries, and naturally he had heard of her name. It was just that he did not expect Babu to call out such a big character as soon as he asked. He could not help but look in that direction with curiosity. At that moment, outside the hall came a horse-neighing sound, then a Pegasus flew in the hall through the arched windows, fluttering its wings. It landed on the edge of the platform, restlessly trotting. The Pegasus' back was clad in a white gold battle armor; its feathers, mane, and hooves were burning with blazing white flames, as if it just flew out of the flames. On its back, was a female rider covered in armor, wearing a winged war helmet that covered the face. It was only from her physique that one could vaguely guess her gender.

This female knight was like her war horse, covered in fire. White flames seeped out from under the heavy armor constantly. She landed on the platform but did not dismount just yet. She held her head high, pulling the reins in flames to guide the horse and appeared in front of Brendel. Without saying a word, she looked down at the Lord.

"You're a Valkyrie?" Brendel thought he was looking at the Pale knights of Madara at first glance, but the Pale knights obviously would not have such luxurious armor, and their horses did not have wings. After Brunhilde came to him, he saw clearly that the other party's weapon was a grasp of a very long double-headed sword, the blade of the sword was very slender, like two pairs of platinum feathers stuck together. In addition to her armor and the Pegasus, it was gorgeous. He almost looked dumbfounded and was about to ask about the other party's combat power before he remembered that he could retrieve the attributes of the creatures in Valhalla, just like how he did to Monica and the girls. He quickly blinked his eyes and pulled out a light-green screen. After looking at the screen that was floating beside Brunhilde, Brendel sucked in a breath.

Brunhilde

Level 60 Valkyrie (Chief)

Strength: 1033, Physique: 732, Dexterity: 740, Bloodline: 180, Willpower: 100, Wisdom: 1.5, Perception: 155

Skills: Magic Resistance, Spirit Resurrection, the Final Battle

Combat value: VIII level

"An eighth ranked soldier!" Brendel almost passed out and nearly fell head first to the ground. The so-called combat power value, in fact, was the type of soldiers' rating. He originally thought that the Valkyries would at best only be a sixth ranked soldier. According to "The Amber Sword", a fifth ranked soldier was not impossible, it was just that at most, it would be given more powerful and practical skills. But the problem is that Brunhilde not only had strong skills. Although Brendel had never heard of 'The Final Battle', the Spirit Resurrection was exactly the same as the Letter Springer of the Grail Knights, but with Magic Resistance. There were three kinds of anti-magic skills gifted in "The Amber Sword"- Magic Defense, Magic Resistance and Magic Immunity, of which Magic Immunity was the craziest, being able to completely ignore all magical effects, living up to its name, the Mages Nemesis. As for Magic Resistance, it could resist 75% of magical damage and the duration of the effect. Followed by Magic Immunity which was the most inferior, able to resist 50% of magical damage. Magic Immunity itself was a relatively strong skill. Only similar skills could be seen in Unicorns, Rune Dwarf Guards, and Farnezain's Spell Guards. According to the rules of "The Amber Sword", soldiers with such strong skills would have gotten their base attributes cut down. For example, a Unicorn's life was generally lower than that of other sixth ranked soldiers and the Spell Guards' attacking skills were the lowest among the seventh ranked soldiers.

This was because different occupational base attributes are different when leveling up, but overall it was still balanced. Those with strong skills usually had weaker base additions, just like Brendel's Holy Knights who belonged to this occupation, while mercenaries belonged to base occupations with stronger additions. So theoretically, the Valkyries’ base attributes should be considered somewhat weak in the eighth ranked soldiers as she had so many strong skills. But Brendel saw that Brunhilde's attributes were not weak, instead, they were stronger than other eighth ranked soldiers of the same level. Her attributes were already stable at the highest stage of Elemental Activation, just one step away from Elemental Enlightenment. Without looking at physical aspects, her level was currently slightly lower than him but her Strength was way higher, and her Dexterity as well as average attributes were terrifyingly high. Speaking from the basic attributes and realm, Brunhilde was superior to him.

In other words, in addition to Mephisto and Aloz, the unreliable foreign aid, Brunhilde was now Valhalla's second stable fighting force.

Average eighth ranked soldiers would usually only be at the start of Elemental Activation.

"Isn't this cheating!?" Brendel felt that he had finally witnessed a backdoor rumored to be designed by the game's designer. How could a magic territory in the second stage recruit an eighth ranked soldier? Not to mention that this eighth ranked soldier was catching up with the ninth ranked soldiers! If this isn't a backdoor, what is?? Honestly speaking, Brendel certainly liked the idea of this 'pie' falling from the sky. The problem was that he never believed that good things would come easily. With this 'reward', there might be some kind of trap that was to follow- the more tempting the bait, the sharper the knives behind. He had encountered such situations countless times in the game, so everything now did not make him feel the slightest bit of excitement, but a strong sense of alarm. He calmed down and carefully asked a question.

"With this ability, she seems to not be considered an eighth ranked soldier anymore, right?"

"Huh?" Babu looked at his lord with some curiosity, "Lord, you can actually tell Brunhilde's at a glance?"

"Ahem-" Brendel then realized that words not meant to be said had slipped his lips in his momentary lapse of concentration. Although Valhalla was connected to that system he brought with him, even Monica and the girls seemed to be unaware of this system. Since even Monica who managed Valhalla was not aware, it was impossible for Babu to know then. After thinking about this, Brendel hurriedly explained.

"It seems to be an ability given to me by Valhalla."

Babu shook his head, but did not doubt, "I see, but there is one thing you misunderstood. Lord, Brunhilde is not considered an eighth ranked soldier, but a ninth ranked soldier."

"A ninth ranked soldier." Brendel was startled, "You mean Valhalla can now recruit ninth ranked soldiers?" Babu's words did not help him understand the situation more, but instead made him even more confused. A second ranked territory could now recruit ninth ranked soldiers, who would believe that? How? Was there more to it when Valhalla was burned down by an inexplicable fire?

The more he thought about it, the more he thought it was possible. "The Amber Sword" followed the principle that rewards were generally proportional to the difficulty of completing a mission. Of course, some luck might be the case, but luck was generally only associated with risk. One might find some unexpected wealth, but that was definitely not in the course of a regular mission. Valhalla was obtained through the Loop of Trade Winds' mission, where the quest plot was epic. Valhalla's rewards were also beyond the ticket price, but everything before seemed normal and Brendel had taken it for granted. This one though, was a little too much,

It might had even broken the balance of the game.

Unexpectedly, Babu still shook his head, "No, Lord, Valhalla is not able to recruit ninth ranked soldiers now, even though this is a legendary territory, but your request is still a little too overwhelming for it."

"What does that mean, Brunhilde is a ninth ranked soldier, didn't you say so yourself?" Brendel froze.

"What I meant was, Brunhilde is a ninth ranked soldier, but the other Valkyries are still eighth-order soldiers. Because Brunhilde is the king and the head of the Valkyries, her power is crowned above the others. In fact, there are four other chiefs of the Valkyries who also have quasi-ninth-rank power, but the other Valkyries, then, only have the power of a standard eighth-rank army." Babu replied.

Brendel finally understood. So this is why. But the fact that a second ranked territory summoned an eighth ranked army was still a little outrageous. He could not help but continued to ask, "The fact that a second ranked territory can summon a ninth-order soldier is certainly a little too outrageous, but the summoning of eighth-order soldiers also seems to be a bit unbelievable."

Babu nodded rightfully, "Naturally so."

"So-?" Brando frowned as Babu's statements seemed to be going back and forth. How could he be this inconsistent?

Babu glanced at him, as if realizing that the lord seemed to have misunderstood something and quickly explained,"Lord, I'm afraid you have some misunderstanding, I did not mean that the Valurian Warrior Hall can recruit Brunhilde and her people. Of course the Valurian Warrior Hall has a close connection with these valiant warriors, to be precise, this hall is a subsidiary building of the Holy Cathedral of Dawn."

"The Holy Cathedral of Dawn?"

"All the Valkyries live in the Holy Cathedral of Dawn, it is their palace. This Cathedral does not exist in the present world itself, but there is an exit connected to the uppermost hall of Valhalla. Legend has it that the Holy Cathedral of Dawn extends to the present world where a silver ladder could be seen, forged through the hands of our people in the Clouds, it is the passage connecting the Valkyries to the present world." Babu replied.

Brando now finally understood.

In other words, the Holy Cathedral of Dawn was actually equivalent to a nest, and this nest could recruit the Valkyries’ Spirits - strong eighth ranked soldiers. The craftsmen here in the Valurian Warrior Hall could create the entrance and exit of this nest, a job no different from Monika and the girls' who cultivated other nests, barracks or functional buildings in Valhalla. The only difference was that only craftsmen of the People of the Clouds could do it, that was, they must rely on these Godsmiths in front of them, which was their true greatest value as Gorju had said.

This was indeed quite a great value. Eighth ranked soldiers were not something commonly encountered even in "The Amber Sword", not to mention that they were such strong eighth ranked creatures like the Valkyries. Once Valhalla could get them, it could be said to be the greatest fortress in this era.

If it could survive for a long time and not be destroyed by natural or man-made disasters like in the game, it was possible for this kingdom to become an empire one day.

But Brando was very calm at this moment. Rewards do not come out of nowhere. Summoning eighth ranked creatures in a second ranked territory should just stay as a dream. The fact that Babu and the others have given him so many conditions had obviously limited the premise of the emergence of the Holy Cathedral of Dawn, needless to say, there was no point in hoping to encounter these legendary warriors without costing a great amount of resources and time before Valhalla fully matured.

He gave it some thought before lifting his head to ask, "So Master Babu, are there any conditions to forge the silver ladder that leads to the Holy Cathedral of Dawn?"

Sure enough, Babu's first words were, "That is a long process, forging the ladder to the heavens requires lifelong efforts of countless craftsmen, even if we start now and work night and day, it will take at least one to two thousand years to recreate the former glory of the Holy Cathedral of Dawn."

The fuck? The game designer had never had the intention to let those things out, right? Although Brando had been mentally prepared, he could not help it but cursed in his mind. He suddenly felt as if he was wasting time. But then he thought of another problem. Monica has said that the time needed to cultivate Valhalla would be counted in hundreds of years before, but with enough Elite Elves and resources, it could be done in half a year. Thinking of this, a glimmer of hope arose within Brando. The Valurian Warrior Hall would apparently grow along the growth of Valhalla, and with the increase in the number of craftsmen in the people of the Clouds, maybe the time needed could also be tens times less?

Of course he did not expect to see the Valkyries in just half a year. It would be an extremely wanted significant encounter in Aouine even if one could see a Valkyrie in ten years.

Thinking about this, he could not help but continue to ask, "If Valhalla grows slowly, how much of this time can be shortened?"

"It's hard to say, there are so many unknowns to the future." Babu replied, "But Lord, if you are anxious to see these brave warriors, we actually have another way."

Brando was slightly stunned and with some curiosity he asked, "What is it?"

"As you can see, not all Valkyries remain in the Holy Cathedral of Dawn. In fact, after the battle of Valhalla, many Valkyries and their souls remained in the present world, such as Brunhilde and several of her people, but most of the Valkyries in the war were severely wounded and passed away. Their spirits rested with their broken armor and weapons. We can revive these long-sleeping warrior women as long as we restore the armor and weapons and if the lord can recover their horses." Babu replied.

Brando took a deep breath.

"What materials are needed to repair their armor and weapons, how long will it take, and where should I go to retrieve their warhorses?" He got a little excited when he said this. If saying that getting rewards for doing nothing was unrealistic, then this would be a real quest in exchange. Brando knew very well that to awaken each of these female warriors, it would probably cost him a great deal, but it would definitely be worth it.

The reason was that for every Valkyrie awakened, Valhalla would gain a top level warrior with at least Elemental Awakening or even close to Elemental Activation.

Babu paused briefly before speaking, "Lord, you would need to prepare the Gold of the River, the Sharp Teeth that cuts off the future, the Blood of the Hydra Lizard and the Singing Silver. As for the Valkyries' heavenly horses-"

Monica spoke on behalf of the lord, "The nest of the Imperial Wind Horses must be constructed."

"Holy shit." Brando nearly fainted after hearing these requirements.

......