Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1843, page 1815: Town in front of the academy.

Under the blue sky, Lan En, Qilin, and Rongbuqiu continued south along Pirum Avenue, venturing deeper into the Lienia region.

The road was covered by dense forests, and the fog made the shadows of everything appear distorted and hazy.

And just like the situation on the Altan Plateau, huge architectural ruins that seem to have collapsed from the sky also frequently appear on the land of Lienia.

This made Lan En try to imagine just how wide the area affected by the great collapse that formed these ruins was.
And how big would that huge building have been when it was intact?
Or is it that what collapsed was actually an ancient civilization's architectural complex in the border area?
Pirum Avenue leads south directly to the north gate of the Academy of Realucalia. Originally built by the Golden Dynasty, the avenue is now riddled with potholes from the relentless bombing of war.

Along the way, you'll pass a church in the dense forest.

This church is dedicated to the "Eternal Queen" Marika, representing the roots of the Golden Dynasty faith in the Lienia region.

But when Lann passed by, he found that the church in the dense forest had become somewhat dilapidated.

The walls were relatively intact, and the statues inside were naturally undamaged as well.

However, the walls covered with moss and ivy indicate that this place has been neglected for an unknown period of time, let alone used for worship and prayer.

Besides the compassionate statue of Queen Marika with her arms outstretched towards the world, the church also contained many wooden crates and miscellaneous items, making it look more like a storage room along the road.

It seems that since the civil war broke out again in Lienia, this land, which the Golden Dynasty had acquired through marriage alliances, has quickly returned to its original style of doing things.

The Golden Dynasty's intervention power was not very strong here.

Perhaps it was because the Golden Law era had been firmly established, and the Lienians had already accepted the blessings of the Golden Law and had effectively become the people of the Golden Tree.

So Queen Marika doesn't really care about these superficial things anymore?

The Academy of Real Lucaria stands on a large island in the middle of Lake Lienia.

The entire college is about the size of a city.

The so-called North Gate is actually just a bridge across the lake. Only after crossing this bridge can you reach the main building complex of the college.

However, when they saw Lann riding his horse from the main road, the guards standing at the bridge entrance immediately stood up and raised their hands in a gesture of refusal.

"Show your entry and exit permit, Dujuan! Follow the rules."

It was a man standing in front of the gate of the bridge.

He was tall and strong, a physique that even a magician's robe couldn't conceal.

In one hand, he held a stone club, which looked more like a club for smashing people than a magic staff. The staff in his other hand also appeared sturdier than usual.

The most important gem on the staff is about the size of a fist.

He was wearing a topped hat, but underneath the hat was not a human face, but a plaster hood shaped like a wise man with his eyes covered.

"The people in the Heymore Classroom."

Lan En immediately matched the image before him with the information he had previously learned from the Hundred Wisdoms Library.

"What classroom, meow?"

Lan En pushed the curious cat's head aside: "A group of people in the Reyalucaria Academy who advocate learning violence and using violence to quell trouble and make fair judgments. Battle Mages."

After explaining to the velvet ball, the witcher stopped his horse a little further away, using the distance to reassure the other party.

“I am not the Cuckoo Knight,” the Witcher shouted at the other man. “Is Realucalia now off-limits to all?”

"Not a cuckoo?" The people in the Haimo classroom looked at it carefully again under the plaster hood before nodding. "Yes, it's definitely not."

"A closed academy? No, it hasn't come to that yet. This is just a conflict between the academy and the Kalia royal family, an old tradition. Are you from the Yatan Plateau?"

Lan En nodded.

"Alright. You can come to watch the excitement or do business if you want. But the academy is not open to you. You can continue south until you reach the south gate of the academy. Then go to the town in front of the academy to rest."

In the Golden Age, where no one truly dies, it's surprising that playing around during wartime can be a form of enjoyment.

The lockdown measures implemented by the Academy of Real Lucaria are also a long-standing tradition of theirs.

Although its main research focuses on magic, a destructive force, the academy is, after all, a research institution and academic organization.

Therefore, in the distant past, whenever a large-scale war broke out on the border, the academy would close its campus.

On the one hand, it was out of self-defense, and on the other hand, it was to show that they would never get involved.

The only exception was perhaps the Battle of Lienia during the War of the Giants. They fought alongside the Carian royal family against the Golden Dynasty, and also submitted to them after the marriage alliance.

After learning about the current rules of the Reyalukalia Academy from the gatekeeper of the Heimon classroom, Lan En continued south following his directions.

Sometimes we'll stray off Pelum Avenue and head towards the lakeshore.

Crabs are often seen on the muddy shallows of the lake.

The smallest of these crabs was the size of a human head. The larger ones reminded Lan En of the giant crabs he had seen in the Punishment Forest of the Flame World. Those things, even when they were lying still, were as big as a small bus.

And in the misty lake, one can vaguely see some even larger things moving about.

The rumors about the 'vitality' of Lienia's wildlife seem to be true.

Not only are the wild animals vibrant, but the area around this lake also boasts abundant pyroxene reserves.

Often, near those massive rock pillars protruding from the ground, one can see whole, bluish-green crystals radiating a hazy glow.

Pyrostone is the foundation of magic in this world, containing magical power.

Magicians have been pursuing the mysteries of stars and meteorites since ancient times, seeking the 'wisdom within stones'.

Mages' staffs and clothing are adorned with radiant stones, and there is a tradition at the Academy of Realucalia of wearing plaster hoods, which are also decorated with radiant stones.

Perhaps it was because of the rich reserves of sapphire in the Lienia region that the Caria royal family and the Realucaria gathered here to study magic.

Upon arriving at the south gate of the Reyalucaria Academy, Lan En and his companions discovered that it was also a bridge.

The bridge connects them to a cluster of island buildings on the lake's eastern shore, which is the town in front of the college.

Then the town in front of the college is linked to the college itself.

It seems that because this place is always busy with people, it is impossible to conduct a thorough check, so the bridge is not forcibly guarded like the north gate of the academy.

Lan En and his group walked across the bridge. Every few meters along the bridge's railings, there was a piece of pyroxene embedded in them. It seemed that pyroxene was used for lighting at night.

However, it's unknown whether the cold, bluish light emitted by these pyroxene stones, combined with the hazy fog over the lake, might be more frightening than the darkness itself at night.

As they walked across the bridge, Lan En and his companions could hear the rustling sounds of some unknown animals coming from beneath the bridge deck and around the bridge piers.

There wasn't a proper sentry post until the town in front of the college.

The town was bustling with people, and the atmosphere was not particularly tense.

On the clock tower in the town, a large bell was ringing out the time. The sound carried far across the lake.

Every now and then, students wearing magician plaster hoods could be seen in the crowd, and the people around them were used to it.

The town in front of the academy, as its name suggests, is a town that arose alongside the prosperity of Real Lucaria. It's like a commercial street or urban village next to a university.

Although Lienia is currently embroiled in a civil war, isn't it really just the Academy fighting against the Kalia royal family again?
It's as strange as it sounds.

In fact, it is quite rare for Lienia that the two groups have not fought each other in the last seven or eight hundred years.

Fighting has resumed in recent centuries, which is just the norm for Lienia.

Besides, everyone is now a citizen of the Golden Tree. Our souls are immortal; at most, we'll have to wait in line to be reincarnated on the tree, so there's even less to worry about.

So Lann could see from the bridge outside the town: the houses built on the island were compact and sturdy, decorated with blue pyroxene blocks everywhere.

Some people were carrying fishing rods and baskets, ready to fish on the lake, while others were hawking their wares to the college students wearing plaster hoods. These wares included materials such as crystallized wood buds, cave moss, and pyroxene fireflies.

At the end of the bridge, at the entrance to the town, was the checkpoint established by the Cuckoo Knights that Lan En had seen before.

It seems that the Academy of Reyalukalia has contracted out the security management of the town in front of the academy, along with the war contract with the Kalia royal family, to the Cuckoo Knights.

However, this group is different from the previous ones who blocked the road and set up camp on Pelum Avenue.

Lan En glanced around and saw no high-ranking Cuckoo Knights in their gleaming full plate armor. At most, there were low-ranking soldiers dressed as sergeants with chainmail and plate armor underneath, and a cylindrical outer robe.

Lan En was about to go up and negotiate, but immediately realized that they couldn't care less about him right now.

"If you want to come in, you have to pay taxes, no questions asked."

"What do you mean there's no room for negotiation?" The donkey cart merchant who had ridden down the elevator with Lan En earlier was dumbfounded. "It wasn't like this when I came here last time!"

"When was the last time you came?" asked the Cuckoo Knight, who wore a silver cauldron-shaped helmet and a red and blue robe, indistinguishable from the soldiers of the Golden Dynasty except for the colors.

"Six months ago!"

"The rules have changed, and that happened within the last six months."

The soldier's hand was already on the hilt of his two-handed greatsword behind his back. Only then did the donkey cart merchant, who had been struggling with him for so long, realize what was happening. The calmness on his face didn't mean he was easy to talk to; it meant he simply didn't care about killing.

The donkey cart merchant was momentarily stunned, his mouth agape but he couldn't utter a word.

For soldiers who no longer care about killing, not answering does not make them feel that they are giving in.

The hand gripping the hilt of the sword behind his back had already begun to slowly pull the blade upwards.

(End of this chapter)