Amber Sword-Chapter 831 - 148: Into the Depths of Thorny Ridge

As Tiya entered the graveyard area, Brando's team was entering the outer region of the Trade Wind Ring—the earlier incident regarding the disappearance of Faina and others was merely a minor episode for him—even though Tiya was among the missing, the Wild Elf sister herself was a card creature, and Brando could summon her back to his side anytime by resetting the Rubis Mercenaries card.

Therefore, from the very beginning, Brando had no intention of going back to find anyone.

However, his decision to delve deeper into the Trade Wind Ring drew strong opposition from the Erune envoy group. Count Otin almost harshly demanded him to return and search for the missing.

Indeed, if Brando were a true Eruein, he might be concerned about the significant impact of a Duke of Cruz's daughter going missing; unfortunately, Brando's thought process, influenced by two souls fused together, was affected by Sophie's modern mindset.

Who cares about the Cruz people?

Even Veronica might not be able to completely protect herself amid this Wolf Calamity, let alone returning this way was a purely reckless act. If it were for his companion, Brando might fight to the death, but for several strangers, it was really not worth it.

Moreover, those Cruz nobles had previously been scheming against him. Brando considered himself not to be a vile person, but neither was he a gentleman who repaid evil with kindness.

As for what the Erune envoy group thought, Brando once again showed them through his actions that he did not care what these Royalists thought.

Brando still sneered inwardly; these guys would often use the kingdom's name to make a point, but if he got impatient, he would just pull out the Royal Knights' Silver Brooch to frighten them to death.

The common insignia of the Royal Knights was mostly made of brass; only Captain Level figures could possess a silver brooch, and the squad leader would have a gold-plated one. In fact, even at the Captain Level, they were at least a close attendant to the Royal Family.

In terms of the relationship with the Royal Family, it was far closer than those hanging-around Royalists.

Of course, Brando also knew that it was just a thought. Although Princess Griffeyn secretly gave him this brooch, Brando knew clearly she might not want to expose her relationship with him. If he went around using the brooch to behave arrogantly, it might not give a good impression to the future Regent Princess.

With Brando's current strength, he actually could not care less about the impression he left on her, but as a former admiration, he still did not wish for this.

Hence, he simply ignored those nobles, knowing they dared not leave his team. Wandering around in this Black Forest with twenty or so people was purely courting death; the monsters in the Black Forest were not limited to the Wolf Calamity.

Just as he expected.

Although Count Otin's stance was unrelatable to Brando, his mind was still clear. Seeing this young man acting willfully, he did not simply return as Roborun shouted, but instead followed persistently.

He knew well that if they chose to return, their team might never make it back.

Halfway up the mountain, Brando glanced back down at the Erune envoy group following below. The young lord's face showed an enigmatic smile. He then looked up, his gaze passing beyond the black night sky, quietly gazing at the undulating mountain shadows in the distance—

In that direction, Thorny Ridge formed an expansive hill south and east of the Rose Wall, and once across these hills, it would be considered truly entering a branch of the Kalanja Mountain Range heading north.

Brando had forgotten the name of that branch, but even the Thorny Ridge area was considered the outer region of the Trade Wind Ring.

In fact, looking around, you could see a thin layer of mist like white gauze winding through the dark mountain forests. This was when the cloud wall of the Trade Wind Ring had opened a Path in the Cloud. During normal times, this place would already be shrouded in thick mist.

And whether looking southeast or southwest, one could actually see the cloud wall towering skyward, the dark clouds even blocking the sporadic stars—the height caused an illusion of the cloud layers curving towards the center when looking up—being in this Path in the Cloud immediately created a feeling of insignificance embraced within.