Amber Sword
Chapter 111: Act 47: Barbara

Chapter 111: Act 47: Barbara

Brand commanded the Stone Statue Ghost to release its claws, and he and Char landed on the soft meadow. The mountaintop was quiet, and the forest was serene. Before their eyes was a crooked wooden hut—resembling a slum house, it was two stories high, with dim candlelight flickering through the gaps in the wooden boards.

"Lord, is this the place you said would help us level up?" Char rubbed his sore wrists where he had been grabbed, scrutinizing the hut before him with a look of serious doubt: "I don’t mean to question you, sir, but this looks more like the dwelling of those witches from Bunosson."

"You’re not mistaken. This is indeed a witch’s dwelling."

"Oh, witches do have some ways to temporarily increase power."

"No, temporary power is too fragile."

"Then, Lord, are you aiming for Spirit Communication Skill? That is a desperate measure. But, sir, those evil spirits from the lower world are not easy to deal with. I have a few tricks to deceive them, but I’ve never tried it myself—" Brand started walking towards the hut, and the young man followed closely, saying.

"Char, remember to tell me next time. But this time, we’re here for a transaction."

"A transaction?"

Brand had already reached the door. He stopped, tensed his body, and slowly regulated his breathing.

Only he knew that the witch named Barbara who lived here was just a façade. Nobles often left a secret passage in their family castles for emergencies, and Duke Goran-Elson, Yusong Castle’s original owner, a politically stalwart conservative with many enemies, had avoided building the tunnels in densely populated areas, extending them to this hill.

And as Duke Goran-Elson’s wizard advisor, it was naturally Barbara’s duty to guard the exit of the secret passage here for the Lord. This secret was discovered by the players during the second Black Rose War when they repeatedly besieged Yusong Castle without success, only finding out about it by consulting the castle’s design drawings.

As for this 32nd-level witch named Barbara, Brand was quite familiar with her. During his time leveling up at Ridenburg, this was the only place selling mysterious items. In those days, Brand was inexperienced and loved to gamble his luck, ending up losing a lot of hard-earned money to this witch.

But that was no longer the point. The key was how he could subdue this First Circle Wizard to ensure the execution of his plan. His hand remained on the sword hilt, his fingers ice-cold with tension.

He hesitated before raising a finger and knocking three times on the seventy-degree-slanted wooden plank door, which had two gaps of varying lengths.

Soon, a sharp, elderly voice came from upstairs: "Who is it? Come back during the day if you want a divination!"

"I don’t need a divination. I’ve brought some items."

"You want to do business? Do you know the rules?" The voice from upstairs paused before asking.

"I have what you need, witch."

"Do you? You’d better bring out what I want, or I’ll dig out your heart and feed it to my dogs." The sharp voice echoed from the second floor to the first, accompanied by the sound of hurried, descending footsteps.

The door quickly opened, revealing an ugly aged face. The witch looked him up and down with clouded eyes under her hood and said, "Speak quickly."

Without thinking, Brand swiftly drew his treasure sword and placed it against her neck. His action caught everyone off guard, even Char was taken aback: Is this how business is done?

Brand was so tense that his whole body felt weak after his successful maneuver. He exhaled, his hand holding the sword trembling—if Barbara had reacted a fraction of a second faster, she would have had over ten ways to turn him to ashes with a spell.

But fortunately, it seemed this old witch was used to resting on her laurels, underestimating him, a Black Iron Lower Rank Swordsman, thanks to her First Circle Wizard strength. Barbara might still think she had a chance even with a sword at her neck, but the outcome of this fight had already been decided for Brand at this moment.

Char was also quite startled. He thought things like prison breaks or causing trouble for an Earl were child’s play compared to this. From the moment Barbara opened the door, he realized—this was a First Circle Wizard, and even Martha above, a high-level wizard like her could easily defeat ten of him with a single slap.