Legacy of a Benevolent Lord
Chapter 57: A Fragment of a Sword that ended an Era.

Chapter 57: A Fragment of a Sword that ended an Era.

Nysalea hesitated.

They’d given her everything: life, healing, kindness, friendship. And she... she had fallen for Riven.

The undeniable truth burned in her chest.

She inhaled deeply, steadying herself, and made her choice.

She stepped forward. "Your Highness."

Riven turned, his eyes meeting hers.

With steady fingers, she lifted her black veil, letting it drift to the stone at her feet. Moonlight bathed her face.

Her eyes, shimmering with tender resolute, held his gaze.

"You are the first man I choose to show my face to," she said, her voice soft but resolute.

Riven blinked, caught off guard.

"I am willing to follow you forever," she continued, her words steady, unwavering. "Never to leave. Never to betray."

Riven: ’Nani?’

Riven: ?? ( ╹ -╹) ??...

She turned to Selene.

"Little Sister Selene, I am willing to become your servant to repay this life you’ve both given me." She declared with all her being.

At this moment, she distinctly embodied the attitude of a knight kneeling before her lord, pledging that her sword and life will serve them eternally.

Selene laughed gently, slowly reaching out her fair, smooth hand, gently brushing a strand of hair from Nysalea’s cheek.

"Why would Big Sister become a servant?" she said teasingly. "Look, you’ve stunned the bad boy speechless."

Saying that Selene encouraged Nysalea to look at Riven again, and they both saw him, dumbfounded.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, "W-what?" Riven stammered.

Selene shot him a look. "Go move the stones."

Riven stood there, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

After a moment, he ultimately lost his surprise.

Again, going back to his comfortable, forgetful mood.

Back to being Plum Riven.

Riven: ╮(︶︿︶)╭

She turned back to Nysalea, whispering conspiratorially, "Careful now. That bad boy’s got all kinds of naughty habits."

As Riven muttered to himself, ’What naughty habits,’ he began channeling his energy to perform Flawless Star Shifting.

Spreading his energy, he felt there were small incisions on this platform that could be small compartments carved onto the platform itself.

Feeling something, Riven narrowed his eyes, and with a ’humph’, a large piece of smooth cuboid stone slab lifted off.

Beneath was a small space.

"There it is!" Selene exclaimed.

They all stepped closer.

Within the tomb lay three more swords lined side by side.

Between the three blades rested a book.

All were arranged atop a deep green base of polished rock.

Riven reached for the sword on the right.

It felt cold in his hand.

Etched below it were the words:

’Fierce and unyielding, capable of destroying anything; before reaching adulthood, used to contend with heroes of the eastern continent.’

The blade was four feet long. It shimmered with a faint green hue. Razor-sharp. The hilt was engraved with two characters:

Green Cloud.

Riven swung it once.

A wave of sword energy exploded outward.

The arc momentarily traveled and then hit the cliff floor across from them.

The cut was as clean as it gets. A moment later, a piece of stone slid and fell.

Nysalea’s eyes sparkled.

"That sword..." she breathed, unable to contain herself. "It’s incredible."

She stepped closer to the sword instinctively, amazed by its aesthetic.

Her mother, Neriseth Nightsilver, had once been known as the Asura Blade. But she had never passed down Saber arts to her.

Instead, she had taught Nysalea a strange, silent sword style, mysterious and unorthodox.

Even so, Nysalea had never owned such an exquisite sword, not like this.

She stared at the blade.

Riven noticed her staring.

He deliberated for a moment, and without a word, he reversed the grip.

He extended the hilt toward her.

"If you like it," he said, "then it’s yours."

"Ah?"

Nysalea Nightsilver stood frozen for a heartbeat.

Her hands trembled lightly as she stared at the blade offered to her.

A good sword wasn’t just a weapon, it was a statement.

In the world of martial cultivation, a true sword could allow someone to fight across small realm differences.

And this Green Cloud Sword, once wielded by the Sword Demon himself, clearly wasn’t an ordinary blade. Just holding it gave off a subtle pressure.

The sharpness, the balance, the dense qi sealed within the blade... it was undoubtedly an Earth-rank treasure.

Riven Ashvale was offering it to her.

And she had only shown the faintest hint of fondness.

Her heart beat faster. Was she truly that important to him already?

She hesitated, struggling with emotion.

Selene saw it instantly and stepped forward with a teasing smile.

"Sister, accept it," she said softly, brushing Nysalea’s arm.

"This sword isn’t just steel and energy, it’s affection. The prince is showing you his heart."

Prince?

Nysalea blinked.

She had noticed something.

Selene had never referred to Riven as "prince" before.

This change, small as it seemed, hinted at a deeper shift.

A girl’s intuition was sharp, Selene Virelyn was clearly unhappy.

Nysalea panicked a little.

She hurriedly bowed and said, "No, no, this sword belongs with you, Miss Selene. It’s too precious, I can’t."

In her panic, Sister Selene turned into Miss Selene.

"Selene... Stop frightening the girl," Plum Riven’s mood disappeared for a moment, and Riven’s stern voice drifted out.

Selene, realizing her game was up, decided to be direct with Nysalea.

There haven’t been many times she has heard Riven being serious, but she knew her beloved was serious by the tone of his voice.

Nysalea looked back at Riven and Selene dumbfounded.

Selene was joking?

Selene chuckled. "There are three swords here. One for each of us. Isn’t that perfect?"

She gestured casually. "Besides, this Green Cloud Sword doesn’t suit me. It suits you much more."

"Huh? It suits me?" Nysalea frowned slightly.

Selene gave a graceful nod.

"I’ve seen your swordsmanship. It eerily matches the descriptions of the Asura Thirty-Six Sword Techniques from Southvale’s Asura Palace.

Your movements are aggressive and direct. If paired with a sword like this, sharp, durable, and weight-balanced, it’ll amplify your strengths. The two will resonate."

"You... you know what my technique is called?" Nysalea blinked, genuinely surprised. "Even I didn’t know its full name."

She had bothered her mother for quite a long time to get her spill on where she got this sword technique and why her mother was adamant about Nysalea learning it.

But Neriseth (her mother) was tight-lipped about her history.

Now that Selene mentioned the origin of her technique, she was incredibly curious. However, she knew this was definitely not the right moment to keep asking questions about its history.

"We’ll talk martial arts later," Riven cut in lightly with a half-smile.

"Nysalea, for now, accept the sword. I already know which blade I’ll be giving to Selene."

Selene’s eyes twinkled as she looked at him.

"You do?"

Riven gave her a faint nod.

It wasn’t a joke. He wanted to make one just for her.

"Then... I’ll take it!" Nysalea finally said.

She reached out with both hands and accepted the Green Cloud Sword with reverence.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

[Ding! You gifted Nysalea Nightsilver an Earth-rank Green Cloud Sword!]

[You triggered a ten-thousand-fold critical return!]

[You have obtained the Heaven-rank Pinnacle-grade sword Imperial Path Crimson Dawn!]

’Bomboclaaat! Ten Thousand!’ Riven’s eyes went wide.

This was the first time in a while he had triggered the highest-tier return.

He stared at Nysalea for a moment, his gaze slowly turning as if he were looking at a golden goose.

First a thousand-fold return, now a ten-thousand?

What kind of monstrous luck did she carry?

Was she a walking good fortune charm?

And the weapon he received in return - The Crimson Dawn - was not just any Heaven-rank sword.

It was legendary. Or... cursed. Maybe both.

He focused on the panel again.

[Imperial Path Crimson Dawn.

A fragment of a sword that ended an era.

In the cataclysm of the thirteenth era, when the star sea was darkened by the outer evil - Vaer’zul the Hollow - the then-uniting Human Emperor forged the original sword with his being as a forge.

Entire continents bowed before this abomination, devoid of loyalty, but because their souls had been hollowed and replaced.

Their minds rewritten. Their loyalty was neither bought by love nor devotion.

Watching his own world fall into silence under the influence of Vaer’zul, he used his blood, marrow, and heart, using Vaer’zul’s birth planet’s melting core as metal to forge this era-ending sword.

The battle’s end marked the outer evil’s fall and the era’s end. The world forgot the evil, but the Emperor’s bloodline remains, though thin.

Remark: After the first time, all side effects for the sword bearer will be cleansed by the system.]

Finished reading the introduction, Riven stood there dazed.

’Outer evil?’

’Thirteenth Era?’

’Fragment of the original sword’

The more he thought about the information he read on the panel, the more muddle-headed he became.

The weight behind the words, the desolate ancient historical pressure felt real.

He couldn’t suppress his curiosity and willed the system to retrieve the sword.

He shouldn’t have ignored the remark...

A sword appeared in his hand.

Black Hilt. Blood red sword body. Its surface veined with pulsing black tendrils, like a living entity refusing to stay dormant.

As if finding a bearer at long last, the sword hummed, trembling the surrounding air. The veins throbbed, giving the feeling that he was holding a living being.

Suddenly, his ears drummed and popped with an unbearably loud sound.