Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1839, 1811. God-Slaying Weapon
“I say,” the mixed-race blacksmith, who had been hammering away in the round-table hall, spoke to Lan En and the others for the first time, “are you three very free? Do you always do something so pointless every time you pass by?”

The mixed-race blacksmith was thin and his voice was as old as his appearance. His tone was distant and unfriendly.

However, considering that the other person still had chains hanging from their ankles, nailed to the wall of the round table hall, it would be abnormal for someone in such a situation to speak politely.

So Lan En didn't take it to heart. He scratched his head and said, "To be honest, I was quite free a few days ago. But now I'm going to get busy... Tsk, you're really something. You only talk to me when you're busy? I had to ask someone else to find out your name is Xiu Gu."

"Yeah, yeah!" Fluffy Ball playfully clung to the blacksmith's anvil, popping out a cat head and saying, "You didn't respond when I greeted you before! I thought you were mute, meow!"

Qilin nodded in deep agreement.

“No,” the mixed-race blacksmith said expressionlessly, “I just didn’t expect that there would actually be someone other than Dolores and Tolissa who simply wanted to say hello to a mixed-race person without any mockery.”

To avoid being maliciously harmed during communication, some people simply refuse to communicate altogether. This could be considered a kind of wisdom for surviving in a malicious environment.

It seems that even though Xiu Gu is a blacksmith with extraordinary skills, he is not having an easy time in this round hall where the Faded Warriors gather.

The Witcher shook his head: "I don't usually speak to others in a mocking manner."

"Ha!" Xiu Gu laughed. "You actually consider hybrids to be human? That's even rarer."

"I mean, do you have to be so confrontational with me?" Lan En shrugged helplessly. "We haven't even exchanged more than a few words. Your aversion is really strange."

“That’s your own problem.” The mixed-race blacksmith’s tone remained distant and wary, but he immediately countered, “Have you never been rejected by anyone before?”

Lan En nodded, and Xiu Gu nodded in agreement.

"Because your beauty means nothing to a hybrid," the hybrid blacksmith sneered. "Don't expect to get the same preferential treatment here as you do elsewhere."

Lan En rubbed his chin: "Oh."

Oh?
Xiu Gu's shoulders trembled with anger.

What do you mean? You didn't react at all?
...Lan En really didn't react.

People often say, "The truth is the sharpest knife." If someone has a flaw, then using that flaw as a starting point for verbal attacks will most likely break that person down.

But if you say someone who is normally very beautiful isn't beautiful in your eyes... Lan En doesn't really care.

Xiu Gu failed to stab Lan En, and instead felt a tightness in his chest.

But he just pursed his lips.

"Hmm, these little things don't matter. Take out the weapon, I'll forge it."

The mixed-race blacksmith weighed his stone hammer in his hand, looking at the other man through the anvil.

"If you're going out on business, don't you even bother to check your tools beforehand? If you die on the road, no one can help you faded souls who have lost their blessing return to the tree."

“I’m quite confident in my equipment.” Lan En became interested, “but it would be good for you to take a look.”

He was already quite curious about Xiu Gu's forging skills.

"Just take a look?" the mixed-race blacksmith sneered. "I'll show you what real craftsmanship is!"

His sneer lasted until Lane pulled Aaron Dett out and placed it in front of him.

The blade was as clear and bright as lake water, and even in the enclosed room of the round table hall, it still carried a faint, holy glow.

Xiu Gu lowered his eyes to look at the knife, then raised them to look at its owner.

I went back and forth several times.

His expression, which had initially been a sneer, quickly became extremely complex.

Incredulity, confirmation, loss, near-madness, as if something had been discovered, bewilderment...

In just a few seconds, his rough face, as thick as a rhinoceros's hide, was able to display such a complex series of expressions.

"The power of this weapon... is simply enough...!" Rough fingers gently brushed across the blade's surface, Xiu Gu's voice now sounding like a dream. "Who were you before you were faded?"

'He didn't finish his sentence. What could the Lake Maiden's sword possibly do?'

Lan En immediately realized the hidden meaning in the mixed-race blacksmith's words.

But outwardly he shook his head nonchalantly: "Who knows about such things?"

The mixed-race blacksmith gave him a deep look before giving him a meaningful nod: "Yeah...who knows?"

"Do you have any other weapons? Take them out. This weapon is no longer within my control."

Lan En took the Lake Maiden's Sword from Xiu Gu, turned around and pretended to go back to his room, took out the [Turbid Stream - Annihilation], and carried the greatsword back to the hybrid blacksmith.

The size of the greatsword, while rare in this world, wasn't particularly astonishing. However, when Lan En slammed the sword onto the felt mat with a clang, the complex expression that had just appeared on Xiu Gu's face reappeared.

This greatsword with its bone-white blade and dark body, although it had already been taught a lesson by Lan En in the last battle with the [Moon Goddess].

But the fierce and wild aura within it, the inexhaustible and savage appetite, and the unbearable heat emanating from the inside of the sword...

“I can’t do anything with this weapon either.” Xiu Gu looked at Lan En, his eyes filled with such intense yet restrained emotions that it was almost unsettling. “Do you… have any more?”

Lan En also retrieved the [Turbid Flow - Annihilation] and temporarily hung it on the side of the Qilin's horse tack.

After comparing the two comparisons, he was fairly certain of Xiu Gu's level.

Just like in the world of fire, the giant blacksmith who forged weapons for the fire gods in ancient times did not recommend that Lann entrust him with the forging of the Lake Maiden's Sword.

Blacksmiths of the same level, due to differences in their technical styles and approaches, are less likely to dare to or want to meddle in the creations of other craftsmen.

This could have an impact on the weapon itself.

The Lady of the Lake's Sword was originally designed by Auri, the God of Forging in the world of Arda. It was later crafted by the Lady of the Lake and then finely modified by Lady Galadriel, who added the light of the Great Hope Star, Eyarendil.

【Turbid Stream - Annihilation】, this greatsword's base is Valyrian steel, incorporating Nergigante's Dragon Orb, Regeneration Shell, and spikes. It later absorbed a section of the 【Spiral Sword】 from the Fire World.

Finally, the giant blacksmith used the wedge-shaped stone discs, the very materials originally used to forge weapons for the fire gods, as reinforcement materials to complete the upgrade.

Judging from this, Xiu Gu's craftsmanship is probably at the same level as Lady Galadriel and the Giant Blacksmith.

“Yes, I do have some,” Lan En said, drawing the [Fang of the Demon Wolf] from the scabbard of his dagger at his waist. “But it’s getting late, so just take a look at this little thing.”

The dagger, gleaming with a ghostly blue light, was taken by Xiu Gu and placed on the anvil. He examined it very carefully before nodding.

"This one... um, I can modify it. Do you have any forging stones?"

"No," Lan En said dryly.

"Then I have no choice." Xiu Gu threw the dagger back. "Don't look at me. I'm a prisoner of you Faded Ones. Have you ever seen a prisoner with personal property? If you want to strengthen yourself, find the materials yourself!"

The Witcher shrugged, unsurprised. "Thanks anyway, Xiu Gu. I'll contact you once I find the forging stone."

Lan En and the other two walked down the stairs.

As he walked, Lan En maintained a steady pace while listening intently.

Sure enough, they heard the blacksmith muttering to himself.

"Those two swords... their power is enough to call them [god-slaying weapons]! But why?"

"Why is it that the weapon already possesses that power, yet the 'god-slaying' power isn't included?! What's the use of any other powerful forces if they don't have the 'god-slaying' power?"

"What could a weapon with such power be used against, besides a god?"

"Who was he before he faded?! Who created that weapon?... Am I not the only one cursed and commanded?"

The mixed-race blacksmith was almost lost in thought as he stood before his anvil.

Lan En went down to the first floor of the round table hall and led the Qilin towards the gate of the small town.

His left hand rested on the hilt of the Lake Maiden's Sword at his waist, his fingers tapping the bear head counterweight at the end of the hilt.

The giant sword hanging beside the Qilin was put into his alchemy bag when he went downstairs.

At night, the endless falling leaves of the golden tree appear even more beautiful and dreamlike against the night sky.

It was as if the whole world had been enveloped in a beautiful, gentle golden rain.

As he walked, Lan En analyzed the information revealed in Xiu Gu's low muttering.

[God-slaying weapon]... Is this the result that this hybrid blacksmith was pursuing?
And it sounds like they were ordered to do so.

Who gave him the orders? And what was the purpose of creating this weapon… no, that's not the only question. It's already very clear: this thing was created to—kill gods!
But now, in the entire border region, even ordinary people can achieve immortality of their souls, and demigods are already eternally immortal. As for Marika, the "Eternal Queen" who is known as the God of the Golden Law, it's hard to say what level she has reached.

Ultimately, in a world where 'death' has essentially ceased to exist, is it truly possible to create a so-called "god-slaying weapon"?

In their previous conversation, Gideon Ophniel smiled and said to Lann, "You'll probably soon find out about the undercurrents beneath this seemingly peaceful surface."

Lan En had considered many possibilities, but he never expected that right after this conversation, before he had even left the gates of the Round Table Hall, he would hear the term "God-Slaying Weapon".

Currently, there is only one God and one law on the border.

The malice towards the gods implied in the term "god-slaying weapon" is almost entirely equivalent to the malice towards the Golden Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)