Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1432 1404. Open Card
Viggofortz was a handsome and strong man, looking to be in his thirties or forties, in the prime of his life and full of charm.

Even when he was standing next to the girl he recognized as the 'most beautiful daisy in the valley', he was not overwhelmed by the beauty of the pure-blooded elf and was still emitting a powerful aura of his own.

They passed through the Gallery of Glory in the Aretuza Academy, where paintings hung were all from famous artists.

But even so, the paintings of these famous artists are just embellishments to the historical nodes depicted in those paintings.

The birth of warlocks, key moments in their development, and those outstanding figures who have made their mark in history.
Until the last one, which was a shield with a kissing picture drawn on it in charcoal.

Lan and Vigfortz walked straight through the Corridor of Glory without saying a word.

Even though they both remembered, their first meeting and first conversation took place here.

They also crossed the broad stone bridge that spanned between the two towers of the academy.

Originally, the stone bridge was laid out with black and white square stones, like a chess board.

But Viggofortz remembered very clearly that it was actually just a permanent illusion to deceive people. Because of the salt and moisture in the sea breeze, the bridge was actually not far from falling apart.

Only the black grid is passable, the rest of the places are unstable places to stay.

The cost of repair is too high, and the use of illusions can maintain the dignity of the warlocks.

And just over two years ago, after the Valyrian steel business got going, the bridge has now been effectively repaired.

There is no magic on this bridge anymore.

"It's changed so much."

Suddenly, Vigfortz stopped on the bridge. The soles of his deerskin boots rubbed against the stones of the bridge surface, making a rustling sound.

He turned and looked at Lan En who had followed him in silence.

“The changes in the academy are huge.”

"Your words almost make me think you graduated from Aretuza."

Lan En told the joke calmly.

"I am a traditional type of warlock." Viggofortz explained nonchalantly, "I studied one-on-one with a mentor. After I finished my studies, I changed mentors at most. I have never been in an academy environment."

"But I am not unfamiliar with Aretuza. After all, I come here every time for meetings."

"See that tower?"

Vilgefortz pointed to the second tallest tower in the Aretusa complex in the night and under the sea breeze blowing across the bridge. It was made of rocks and was dark and lifeless compared to the brightly lit main body of Aretusa.

The waves hit the rocky cliffs of Thanid Island, creating white foam and a roaring sound.

"Tomorrow, the ten archmages from the two wizard councils that greeted you just now will wear traditional attire: black cloaks and pointed hats that flutter in the wind, just like what is depicted in the illustrations of those storybooks."

"We also bring wands and canes, just like the ones parents use to scare their children. That's the tradition."

"We will enter the Gastang Palace accompanied by several representatives. The meeting will be held behind closed doors. The rest of the representatives will wait in Aretusa for the final decision."

Lan Enxin said, "I know better than you what the 'traditional wizard image' is. Gandalf is too traditional in appearance."

"And what about the tallest tower? What role will it play in this meeting?"

Lan En continued.

At the wizard summit, considering the symbolic significance, it is impossible to give up the tallest tower, right?

The tower seemed to have been abandoned for a long time. Although Lan En had lived in the academy for a long time, he was not quite sure what the tower was used for.

"Tor Laura, the Seagull Tower, now abandoned. Was it important? Maybe."

"possible?"

"According to the legends of the elves," the handsome male wizard shrugged, "the portal in this tower connects to the mysterious Tor Gvirel, the 'Tower of Swifts'."

"That is the legendary secret base of the elven sages."

"We tried to excavate the portal in the tower but failed, and it was later sealed. Many people protested, because everyone wanted to leave their names in history. However, the portal was distorted by a malfunction and it is an objective fact. It will not disappear just because of a few protests."

The sea breeze was still blowing, and Lan En did not continue the conversation.

The two of them felt almost at the same time that the greetings were over.

"I am almost certain, after our first conversation, that you thought I was concerned with the strange influences on those children of destiny."

Viggofortz had a strange smile on his face.

"You thought I was chasing the power of fate. But I wonder: do you still think so now?"

"No." Lan En's face was calm, and he just shook his head. "To explore fate as a research object, I think even a young talent like you who is arrogant and proud would not be so unrealistic."

"That's why I feel like I can't see through you, at least mostly. I don't know what you're really pursuing."

"You don't know me, but I know you, Lan."

Viggofortz chuckled, and a strange light appeared in his eyes.

"I know that people say you love the North and your hometown Cintra. But I know that you only see the king and his kingdom as a mess. Because your soul and flesh have nothing to do with the so-called North and Cintra."

The witcher suddenly frowned and turned to look at the wizard.

The wizard himself seemed to feel nothing.

"What an interesting idea. Don't get me wrong, I really don't see people like you very often, Lan En."

"You look down upon kings and kingdoms, and you look upon them as if you were standing downstream in a river, watching a bloated corpse floating down from upstream."

"When you see them, you see only what they will look like after death." "They will eventually be eliminated. The so-called 'eternal like marble' country is destined to disappear one day in your eyes."

"Everything has an end," Lan said calmly. "Anyone who studies history or philosophy will have no doubt about this."

Viggofortz looked up at the tall, beautiful figure under the moonlight, a playful smile on his face.

"But even for the historian who has the most opinions on this, when I tell him that the kingdom he lives in today will perish in the foreseeable future, the first reaction in his eyes will still be doubt and helplessness."

“But you just have to be sure.”

"It's like you've become accustomed to seeing those great kingdoms collapse and disappear. You know it's inevitable."

"Why, Lan? Why do you have such a detached perspective? After all, you don't have an extra lump of flesh in your chest compared to others."

The witcher narrowed his eyes sharply, looking at the wizard who seemed to be just speaking casually.

"Prophecy?" Lan En asked after a long silence, "Or something else? I should have known that you would investigate me."

"You thought of it all, Lan." On the contrary, Vigfortz praised sincerely, "You didn't expect that I would be able to investigate you to this extent. I put a lot of effort into it."

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"How can those lame predictions and exploration magic penetrate such a beautiful shell of light?"

Viggofortz's fingers were pointing at Lan in mid-air, but the outline he was gesturing at was not Lan's body, and his eyes were not focused on the body.

——What he gestured to was the outline of Lan En’s [body light]!

That is the 'light shell' in his mouth!
Viggofortz's chuckle did not make the atmosphere friendly; on the contrary, a heavy feeling grew between the two of them.

Suddenly, the wizard retracted the finger he was stretching out outside, as if he was chilled by an inexplicable sea breeze.

The smile on his face disappeared, and after Lan En became serious, his expression also became serious and solemn.

"I beg you, Lan."

Viggofortz spoke suddenly without any context.

The attitude on that handsome face was extremely sincere.

He got straight to the point.

"I think with your ability, you must have sensed the strange atmosphere at this banquet. Let's be frank."

He took a deep breath.

"A fierce battle is brewing, my friend. It will be a fierce battle of life and death. No one will show mercy or sit still and wait for death. Everyone is eager to use magic, swords, and even teeth to win and survive."

"I ask you, noble spectator, master of detached vision: join the side that has the better chance. Join us."

"No, Lan, don't frown at me yet. I know what you want to say. You want to say that you don't care who has a better chance of winning, because whichever side you are on has a better chance of winning. You are very confident and proud. This is you."

"But listen to me, times are different now."

"You also want to say that you don't care whether the odds are against you or not, you just stick to the position you think is right. After all, you have been like this from the beginning, and it doesn't even matter whether this power exists or not."

"But listen to me." Vilgefortz looked at Lan, "This is not a good idea."

"You see the Northern Kingdom as a pile of decaying bones in a grave, so why not use this detached eye to look at it more? See it further? Be more... relieved?"

"Everything has an end." The wizard persuaded him with Lan's words, "Why bother about those trivial things?"

"Like human lives?" Lan En asked back.

"Just like human life," Vigfortz responded.

The demon hunter's tall figure remained silent, but the atmosphere gradually changed.

The relaxed muscles are now becoming active, and vigorous heat and vitality are bursting out from the two hearts and blood vessels flowing with high-energy blood, just like adding a handful of coal to the furnace.

Lan En nodded first, indicating that he understood Vigfortz's confusing conversation, and then
"Pooh."

The wizard looked at the noble and gorgeous beauty in the moonlight in front of him with cold eyes and a bit of astonishment - although they were both men, Viggofortz could only make a subconscious description and called her a beauty - he tilted his head towards the sea outside the bridge and spat out a mouthful of disdainful saliva.

It was a crude and impolite action, but the moonlight made Lan En's molten silver hair and beautiful face even more dreamy. Even such an action had a sense of free and easy beauty when he did it.

But the key to this action lies not in temperament and beauty, but in its disdainful connotation.

"I ask the same of you, respected Archmage Vigfortz."

Although he said the word "request", there was only a chilling coldness on Lan En's face.

The pair of faintly glowing cat eyes looked down at each other.

"clam down."

The tone sounded like an advice, but also like a reprimand with an implicit threat.

"I beg you to calm down, Vigfortz."

After saying this, the wizard also became expressionless. He faced Lan and walked backwards towards the other side of the bridge, gradually sinking into the shadow of the tower under the moonlight.

Lan En didn't even look back and turned away.

Now, the cards are out.

On the way back to Aretusa Banquet Hall, Lan En, with a cold face and hurried steps, ran into another friend of his -

The red-bearded dwarf with an anxious look, Shelton Giancardi, should not be here.

(End of this chapter)