Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1945: Furen Brothers and the Manor Sword Duel

Granny Cassandra’s figure abruptly disappeared, not finishing her last sentence. But Shard wasn’t worried about the safety of the doctor and the priest. He roughly guessed that the doctor’s coffin could probably serve as a special water surface vehicle, prompting the two to attempt to break through the barrier between the two islands.

Considering the doctor’s luck, Shard was worried they might get lost in the fog indefinitely; yet given Priest Augustus’s reliability, Shard also felt that perhaps soon, he would see the pair appear before him sitting in that coffin.

After the contact with Granny Cassandra ended, the girl in the hotel came forward as usual. Miss Haley Aflora dried Shard’s clothes with steam, and Tifa brought the magic potion.

Shard’s outing this time was short, so Lecia and Dorothy didn’t worry by asking Shard what he encountered again. However, Shard noticed that although more of the previously unconscious girls in the hotel had woken up, the number of those needing rest and treatment had also increased.

"The surrounding monsters are getting stronger, and their perception ability is also increasing. With each earthquake, the blood hue in the outside fog becomes thicker, and they grow stronger as well. I have a feeling that this island is coming to life."

Lecia explained her worries to Shard:

"Although the hotel can still be maintained for now, your bonfire can ensure safety at least on the first floor, and healing magic potions are abundant. But from the current situation, there won’t be any problems within an hour, but it’s hard to say after that... After all, we don’t have that many High Ring Sorcerers."

Lecia and Dorothy are both Five Rings, and they knew their level was the lowest, so they didn’t want to create trouble by joining the battle, only summoning the Princess with the spindle and the Matchstick Girl with the basket to keep watch at the door. Since they didn’t participate in the battle, Lecia was responsible for the allocation of supplies here, thus having the most understanding of the hotel’s overall situation.

"Don’t worry; time won’t be that long."

Shard said:

"Don’t worry about anything; leave everything to me. Things might end before midnight. By the time dawn comes tomorrow, we still have half a Day of the Red Butterfly to go through."

The piece of the tree root has already been handed over to Granny Cassandra to be transmitted outside the island. The underground tree of the island has a direct connection with Edwards’ Ascension Technique. If people outside the island could quickly uncover the secret of the tree root, they should also know how to land on the island.

Now everyone is racing against time, Shard even believes that Laplace Klein Howard, who is at the Edwards Mansion, should also be calculating the time. He wants to use Shard and Iluna, whose whereabouts are unknown, to help him complete the final part of the ritual, but Shard and Iluna are actually using this as well to seize power.

The race against time is yet to know who will win or lose, but it can’t be said that any side has already fallen behind.

It has been over thirty minutes since the whole Green Lake Hotel appeared on the island. People from outside the island are about to arrive, the Edwards Family Banquet is also about to begin. Shard suspects that there aren’t many chances left for him to return here. So, after a short rest and with the girls’ farewell, he left the hotel again.

Following the now familiar path into the forest, although the monsters lingering in this rainy night fog have grown stronger, Shard’s deeper connection with the island actually allowed him to bypass each battle more quickly, swiftly passing through the woodland, reentering the town.

Along the way, he encountered supplies sent by the church from outside the island twice, among which the alchemical puppets capable of attracting monsters autonomously made his journey more convenient.

As for the fog-covered town, passersby remained unseen on the road. Upon reaching the spot where the Cross collapsed and the Blood Tree rose, the kneeling townsfolk were still there, and Shard simply bypassed them, heading straight towards the road leading to the top of the hills on the town’s south side.

Since he had already encountered something once in the town, he thought this time he could directly reach the gates of Edwards’ Old House and then be forced to find a key or an invitation letter or something. Unexpectedly, at the end of the originally straight road, he was once again blocked by an unexpectedly standing manor.

The manor perfectly blocked the road leading from the town to the Edwards’ Old House. The manor gates were wide open, and the fog-filled courtyard allowed visibility to the firelight in the mansion’s windows, as if welcoming Shard’s arrival.

"It was just the Edwards Brothers and Green Siblings, now it’s probably the turn of the Furen Brothers, right?"

Shard didn’t choose to detour and entered the manor, holding the longsword, following the courtyard’s central axis line, directly entering the open manor building.

Inside, as he expected, was a splendidly decorated ballroom. Men and women in tuxedos and gowns all gathered together, watching two people in the crowd dueling with each other.

Those were indeed the Furen Brothers, each wearing a single eyeglass on opposite sides, holding a rapier, dueling. Their stances were very standard, yet with no armor on, their attacks were quite vicious.

When Shard saw them, the brothers were already covered in wounds. As they moved, blood streamed from their stained clothes onto the carpet. Looking closely at that carpet, it was evidently woven densely with tree roots and tendrils.

The onlooking townsfolk cheered joyously, either clapping or loudly encouraging the brothers to continue their assault. Each of them stood still, despite any vigorous movement of their upper body, their lower body remained motionless.

Finally, Shard noticed, beneath a well-dressed lady in high heels, a tendril piercing up through the sole, and thus understood that the townsfolk here were also being controlled by the tree that traversed the entire island.

Shard moved through the crowd to the interior, where the Furen Brothers turned their heads to look at him, but their rapier-wielding actions didn’t cease, as if their heads couldn’t control their bodies anymore.

Shard didn’t interfere to stop their actions but directly said:

"Have them stop; what are you going to do this time?"

"Just trying to demonstrate some family loyalty."

The voice came from beside him. Shard looked at Laplace Howard, dressed in a black suit with a handkerchief tucked in his chest and a glass of red wine in hand:

"Is your family’s version of family loyalty forcing twin brothers to kill each other?"

"It won’t harm their lives."

The Diviner said calmly:

"Compared to this cruel world, this is already a merciful method."

Shard feigned a mocking smile:

"Let them stop. I want to proceed to your mansion. What do you want me to do this time? Use my perfume to nourish your family’s big tree?"

"It seems you already understand the significance of doing this."

"How could I not understand?"

The Furen Brothers ceased their attacks on each other and stepped back from the carpet made of those tree roots.

The Diviner turned around, taking a longsword from an elderly butler-like figure behind him that resembled the one wielded by the Night Watchman. He then made an inviting gesture to Shard:

"Would you like to test your swordsmanship against me? I’ve heard that the God Summoner’s swordsmanship is exceptional. Try it with me. As long as you last five minutes, regardless of win or lose, you can continue your journey."

He walked towards the red carpet:

"The time is about right. This is the last obstacle stopping you from moving forward. I promise you that after this duel, you will receive an invitation letter, and the descendants of mine that you care for will be waiting safely in the family mansion for you."

He stood on the carpet and turned to Shard:

"How about treating this as a warm-up before the banquet? Tonight, we will discuss many things. If you can defeat me, I will gladly tell you some of the things you’ve always wanted to know in advance."

"Like what?"

Shard frowned deeply. The Diviner flourished the longsword beautifully:

"For example, what exactly the world has chosen Lecia Cavendish and Dorothy Louisa for."

Carrying his sword, Shard stepped onto the carpet. The Diviner smiled and gripped the sword hilt with both hands, raising the sword vertically:

"Come, let’s follow the etiquette of a duel."

Thus, Shard also raised the Night Watchman and touched it against the Diviner’s sword. They each took two steps back, adjusted their breathing, and then advanced, swinging their weapons.

The longsword in the Diviner’s hand, though not as good as an Angel-Level Relic, was undoubtedly a very sturdy weapon. The swords intertwined, and though cracks began to appear, it did not break.

Moreover, the Diviner’s swordsmanship was indeed superb. Although his current body was not his true form, his strength was surprisingly great, even greater than Shard’s. Fortunately, his "superb" swordsmanship was still no match for Shard’s now almost "master" level swordsmanship.

They tacitly agreed not to use Arcane Technique, dueling like ordinary people in the most classical manner. As their longswords clashed, parried, dodged, and blocked, the gathered townsfolk continued to cheer and applaud.

They didn’t just cheer for the Diviner; they also applauded Shard’s excellent offense.

The five-minute duel wasn’t very long. Even though Shard was slightly outmatched in strength, he maintained an upper hand with his weapon’s advantage and his swordsmanship. The black suit on the Diviner gradually developed many tears, and the body that came from unknown origins bled as a result.

While Shard made several mistakes and his defense was pierced by the opponent’s longsword, until the end, he only suffered damage to his clothes without any real injury. The sword fight between them was characterized by restraint and elegance, with their longswords clashing devoid of the ruthlessness and determination to kill one another.

But Shard didn’t relax his vigilance. Even in the almost harmonious and friendly five-minute duel, when the longswords clashed once more and the Diviner’s sword suddenly switched moves, Shard immediately realized that he was finally showing his true intentions.