Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1715. Delay
"What it is?!"

Around the battlefield where Lan En and the vengeful ghost were fighting each other, some troops that had not yet been transferred were also looking at the suddenly unfolding domain barrier in confusion.

In fact, there was no need for Foltest to give orders to people, as these people knew how to escape.

From the moment Chang An appeared, they had already fled in opposite directions.

"Don't worry about what it is! Run, run!" The soldiers pushed and shoved each other. Although they looked terrified, they didn't trample on each other. "I don't want to be contaminated by the things spreading on the battlefield! Not at all!"

No matter whether it was Lan's three consecutive [Dragon Flash] or the air blade that rushed forward and wiped out an entire cavalry team of Nilfgaardians.

Even though the vengeful ghost hadn't revealed its true form yet, its black cloud form alone was enough to cause the mortal troops wherever it passed to fall into a state of physiological panic and exhaustion without any resistance.

The soldiers who have survived the battlefield until now are not fools or blind people. They all have basic cognition.

In such a horrific battlefield, they would be in danger of their lives just by getting close! Even the stones flying from the battlefield could kill people!
So if you can avoid it, definitely don’t get involved!
But the continued expansion is dark and ruthless.

When it is unfolded from Changan, it has a basic size range, which is about 500 meters in radius.

Then it expands at a radius increase of two meters per second, just as John Natalis observed.

The initial area was close to 750,000 square meters, but after ten seconds it was 810,000! After one minute the area was more than one square kilometer!
As a cursed creature, the expansion of the dark realm of this vengeful ghost has little to do with the strength of its own filthy power. Who knows how big it will eventually expand to, or whether there is an "end" at all?
A speed of two meters per second in a single direction does not sound fast. An adult can easily outrun this expansion rate and it is not dangerous at all.

However, the movement speed in the real world cannot be calculated according to ideal conditions.

Although the battlefield has been basically settled, there are many corpses of people and horses on the ground, slippery blood and internal organs, tattered armor and the remains of sharp weapons. All of these are hindering the efficiency of the operation.

The soldiers had already experienced a battle before and were almost exhausted.

But even so, at the beginning, the expansion of Chang'an still couldn't keep up with the pace of people's evacuation. But then, as the soldiers moved away from Chang'an, they inevitably encountered hills and steep slopes.

People need to overcome obstacles, but dark expansion is not necessary.

As humans continued to climb up the hillside, they saw the terrifying domain barrier behind them, but the pace of expansion never changed. The psychological pressure caused was directly reflected in the body.

Make them more frightened and more exhausted.

"N-No! Don't!"

Faint cries were heard from behind, but no one dared to stop or even look back.

The soldiers had long since discarded all their weapons and equipment just to make their escape a success.

But the Chang'an that was chasing closely, neither fast nor slow, was always expanding steadily.

Until a certain moment!
The dark area that looked like a distorted funhouse mirror from the outside suddenly disappeared in silence! Everything covered by it also returned to its original bright colors!

"Communication confirmed, Triss."

In the center of the room, which was always dark, Lan En held the conical crystal with one hand and the Sword of the Lady of the Lake with the other, staring intently in front of him.

"I'm here! The domain barrier is gone, Lan En!"

The sorceress' voice was filled with joy that came from surviving a disaster.

"It won't be gone for long." But the demon hunter remained calm. "I need to do a few tests now, and I need you to observe the changes that occur in this area from the outside during this period. Inform me of the results, and I will think about how to deal with it."

The sorceress responded.

In front of the demon hunter, the huge body of the vengeful ghost was still in the process of disintegrating into filthy black smoke.

Lan had just killed it again.

It is only natural that the death of the Lord of Everlasting Darkness is accompanied by the collapse of Everlasting Darkness.

But Lan En didn't think that the thing in front of him could be dealt with now.

Sure enough, after nearly five minutes.
"Boom~"

A silent hum appeared in this space.

No longer is the big bell wrapped around the arm used as the opening 'greeting' after resurrection.

The state in which the vengeful ghost appeared when it was resurrected this time was that it suddenly popped out with the realm of darkness!

"Roar!"

A roar came out of the twisted big mouth on that face that was half angry and half fearful.

But its claws, which were bigger than a whole person, had already smashed towards Lan En's head!
Of course, it failed.

However, from the place where it attacked and landed, flames still gushed out like a wave.

This is the wrathful fire of the vengeful ghost. Onmyojis have subdued various monsters as shikigami since ancient times, and have studied and recorded common monsters. Lan En learned quickly and comprehensively from Abe Haruaki. However, this vengeful ghost has turned charcoal black, and its horns have changed from golden to copper-green, but the flame has not changed much.

"What is the current status of this enchantment field as seen from the outside?"

Lan, who had been prepared for a long time, dealt with the attacks of the vengeful ghosts with ease. He also contacted Triss who was outside Chang'an.

By this time they had all adapted to the intermittent and difficult communications.

"Everything is normal," Triss's tone turned heavy from joy just now. "It is about the same size now as it was when it disappeared just now. It seems that when it died, the area did not expand!"

Only at the end did the sorceress's voice hold a hint of hope.

But Lan En remained calm and treated this "hope".

"But it took nearly ten minutes to revive last time, but just now it only took five minutes."

"Maybe I'm pessimistic," the demon hunter said, "but I think if I continue to delay time and the expansion of my domain by killing it, the time it takes to revive may become shorter and shorter."

"Is there no other way?"

Foltest interrupted and asked Triss, the sorceress had just adjusted the communication here so that the sound could be played out loud.

The king looked like he was about to bite his teeth, his expression even more ferocious than when he heard that the central defense line had been breached during the battle just now!
"It's only thirty or forty kilometers from here to Vizima! If it really keeps expanding without end, then it only needs, needs."

"More than five hours, everyone." John Natalis said in a deep voice, "In more than five hours, this thing will cover Vizima!"

Calculated using the method of marching time, he, an expert who had climbed up from the grassroots, figured it out in the blink of an eye.

"We have all seen it," Foltest's expression was as cold and hard as a broken sword. "The barrier just disappeared, and the things covered in it became a mess!"

Those unlucky people who walked slowly, were injured, or took the wrong route and failed to keep up with the expansion speed, their figures appeared in the world of the living in the past five minutes.

They remained in a twisted posture, curled up in fear and pain, and their bodies were gray, as if all the life had been drained away.

Judging from Lan En's feelings, their last moments would probably feel like they had fallen into a jar of sulfuric acid.

In this magical medieval world, it would be very painful for the living to enter the world of the dead, much more serious than the magical world of the Japanese Warring States Period.

If this thing enveloped Vizima in more than five hours, Foltest couldn't even imagine what would become of his capital and its people!
What will become of your own country?
If he really couldn't stop it, then perhaps at the last moment, he wouldn't have to escape through the warlocks' portal. Dying here might make Foltest feel better.

After all, he is different from Demavi. He will not run to Novigrad for refuge simply after his country falls.

And when the king was lost in thought.

"Now," suddenly, the witcher's calm voice came again from Triss's magic, "how about the view from the outside?"

The King of Temeria and the Sheriff never took down their telescopes.

"It's slowing down!" Foltest said hastily. "What did he do in there? Can he come again?"

And in the constant darkness, Lan En looked at the vengeful ghost in front of him.

Its body became much emptier, and its strength also became weaker and less powerful.

The filthy power in it was temporarily emptied by the unique and profound techniques, and it fell into a weakened state.

The monster didn't have much strength at this time, not to mention it was in its normal state, it was still ferocious even when it was attacked. Now it had to take a step back and stagger when it was hit.

Because they are creatures that originated from a curse, no one can be sure how large the Ever Dark Realm will expand, because the curse is inherently unreasonable.

But now it seems that at least weakening the power of the Lord of Everlasting Darkness will have an impact on the speed of expansion.

But then, Lan En's expression did not become relaxed.

Because in the constant darkness, the recovery speed of the monster's filthy power will also become very fast!
"I'll try my best, Triss, but you know."

While Lan En began to deal with the powerful vengeful ghost again, he sent a message to the outside.

His tone was full of the calmness of facing and accepting reality.

"If the curse has not been lifted, then I am just stalling for time, but it won't last too long. As I said before: if we make the most pessimistic assumptions, then...

Lan En disconnected the communication before he finished speaking, but everyone present knew what he wanted to say.

The Aedirn wizard who had just sent a large-scale message to the remaining troops on the battlefield now had his eyes wandering and did not dare to look in the direction of the dark realm.

It seemed as if just looking at that place would bring him bad luck.

(End of this chapter)