Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1849, 1821: Shadow Beast Hound Knight
Lan En rowed the boat back to the town in front of the academy gate in the middle of the lake.

Meanwhile, the martial arts cultivators who delivered the message also arrived at the Kalia Fortress, located at the northern end of the western shore of the lake.

Compared to the rest of the Lienia region, which has long been imbued with a large amount of sapphire magic, resulting in a deep blue sky during the day resembling dusk, only the light of the golden tree shines down unaffected.

It seemed that the Kalia stronghold was shrouded in an even stronger and more concentrated power; once you entered the stronghold, the sky turned completely dark.

Just a single gate tower separates the daytime from the moonlit night.

If Lan En, Rongbuqiu, and Qilin were to see this situation, they would definitely find it very familiar.

Because of Irithyll, the new capital city in the world of fire. That city was forever shrouded in the cold moonlight because of the presence of Gwyndolin, the Darkmoon God.

Its mere existence is enough to transform the surrounding environment.

The martial arts cultivators who delivered the message were not surprised by this, after all, compared to the already apocalyptic Flame World, their world's Age of Gods was still flourishing.

In terms of ridiculously powerful forces, the borderlands are no less powerful than the world of fire.

Bypassing the giant, dormant hands in the earth, the Flame Martial Arts cultivator knew very well that these 'finger worms' were the result of research by a Radiant Stone Mage under the command of the Full Moon Queen.

The finger worm is a pale hand adorned with elaborate jewelry, with flesh and wrist bones still visible at the cut surface of the wrist. Ten fingers grow densely and crowdedly on the palm, covered with warts.

The smaller ones are as big as wild dogs, while the larger ones are as big as horse-drawn carriages.

Regardless of size, that twisted grip is no joke.

In the Golden Age, when the concept of 'finger' held special religious significance, it was something that should have been carefully concealed at all costs.

However, as the time approaches, the conflict between Kalia and the Cuckoo is intensifying, to the point that the Kalia royal family has begun to bring these things out as part of the fortress's defenses.

Besides the finger insects, there were also many Kalia soldiers in the stronghold. They were not surprised by the arrival of the fire-wielding martial arts cultivators and immediately led the way to see the current manager of the stronghold.

A mountain demon sitting on the ground, head down, holding a large book.

The mountain trolls in the border region were different from the ones Lann had seen in Arda.

Here, they were close relatives and allies of the Titans, but they betrayed the Titans during the Titan War. As a result, after the Titan War ended, they did not suffer the same fate as the Flame Titans, but existed in the Golden Dynasty as lowly laborers and servants.

The mountain trolls of Lienia had formed an alliance with the Carian royal family long before the War of the Giants and were subordinate to Carian. Their affiliation remained unchanged even after the War of the Giants ended.

Therefore, the mountain trolls of Lienia held a much higher status than those in the Golden Dynasty, and some were even granted the title of Knight of Caria.

The mountain trolls should have many fleshy whiskers on their faces, making their heads look like sunflowers.

However, this mountain demon wore a helmet made of many small mirrors, making it impossible to see its head.

“We have a guest.” Unlike the trolls who usually only grumble or roar, the helmeted troll before him spoke in a methodical and rational manner. “Lord Aganti, is there something you need?”

After being led in, the fire-wielding martial arts cultivators very consciously avoided the large and small brilliance stones, as well as the scrolls and books piled up along the walls around the room.

As people who practice prayer, they've always found those who practice magic to be strange. They figured if their positions were reversed, the other person would feel the same way.

Therefore, the martial arts cultivator who delivered the message did not engage in any unnecessary formalities.

They were collaborators with the Kalia royal family, and both sides knew what kind of big project was about to take place.

If we still can't work together at this point, it's better to just return the tree to its natural state on our own.

"Time is of the essence, Lord Igi." Under the hood, the red-haired, red-bearded martial arts practitioner spoke bluntly, "Twofinger has already sent the Faded Ones to Lienia, who have come to us and set a final deadline."

"Now, the deadline he has given us will also be the deadline for our operation to begin..."

The mountain demon, who had been leisurely turning the pages of a book, seemed to pause for a moment, and then a long sigh came from beneath its mirrored helmet.

"Is that so?" Igi put down his book and looked down at the Flame Martial Arts Cultivator. "After planning and scheming for so long, investing so much effort and calculation, in the end, it's a Faded Hero who's sounding the final charge for us?"

"...Alright. Now, it's a relief."

His tone seemed to lament the bleakness of time and the sudden upheavals of change.

After the initial reflection, decisive action is taken!

The mountain demon Igi asked decisively, "Lord Aganti, what do you need us to do?"

“We will stall the Faded Ones until the final deadline,” the Flame Martial Arts Monk said, reciting the words he had already rehearsed in his mind. “And at the final deadline, we hope that Kalia will send men to kill the Faded Ones in Lienia.”

"The death of the faded one will not return to the tree; his death can buy us a little more time to make final preparations. It is worth it."

"The location will be the sealed prison where we imprisoned that thief. We'll take him to see the thief to prove we've completed our capture mission. And while he's inspecting the sealed prison..." The Flame Martial Arts cultivator looked up and confirmed with Iji, "That will be the best time for us to make our move."

The mountain troll nodded up and down in its mirrored helmet: "Yes, we. I agree."

After receiving an affirmative answer, the Flame Martial Arts cultivator immediately took his leave.

After the martial arts practitioner left the room, another voice came from the side.

“Old man,” the speaker emerged from the shadow of the large diabase, “that faded one is blocking Lani’s path, so I will personally take him down…”

The speaker was tall and strong, with a build not much different from Lan En's. He was covered in black armor and wore a gray cloak.

Behind him was a giant sword that was hard for ordinary people to imagine. The wide blade was at least one and a half palm widths wide, and its length was not much different from his height!

However, this otherwise ferocious sword is adorned with exquisite and luxurious decorations. It is decorated with gold and silver, and covered with azure gemstones.

What's even more striking is that this person's head is a wolf's head!

It was the head of a gray wolf, with a scar on one eye from a fight.

As he finished speaking, the wolf-headed man subconsciously bared his teeth, licked his canines, and let out a low growl.

However, the mountain demon Igi seemed to have become familiar with the wolf-headed man's appearance.

He picked up the book again.

“No, don’t get involved in Lienia’s affairs right now.” He paused for a moment before adding, “To be precise, Blaise. You’d better not get involved in anything Lani is planning right now.”

“Before Miss Lani’s plan is actually implemented, we cannot determine what Twofinger’s attitude is toward the one who chose her as the ‘God-Man’. And you are the shadow beast that Twofinger gave her.”

"You can't interfere until you're sure of the reaction of the two fingers."

Halfway through his speech, Iggy offered some words of comfort to Blazer.

"Anyway, the whole plan has already been prepared in advance, and there's no need for anyone outside the plan to interfere, so you can just stay put, Blazer."

But the low growls of discontent from the wolf-headed man's throat continued unabated.

"Grandpa, I would never betray Lani! You know that!"

“But unfortunately, Blaze.” The troll who was reading looked up. “You are the shadow beast that Twofinger gave to Lani. Whether you betray or not… is not up to your subjective will.”

"That's settled then, Blaze. You'll stay quiet for a while, and I'll take charge of Kalia. As for the support the Flame Watchers are requesting, let Darrell handle it."

"A Hound Knight, plus so many Flame Watchers, including the Watcher's leader. That should be enough to deal with a Faded Hero."

Although Blaze, the wolf-headed demon, gritted his teeth in resentment, he still respected the orders of the troll he called 'Old Man'. He could only frown and retreat; during this crucial time, he needed to remain quiet and composed.

Then, another knight in full black armor walked in... or rather, crawled in.

Seemingly having undergone extraordinary training, the knight's physique, evident even in his armor, was lean and wiry.

He didn't walk upright like a human; instead, he lay sprawled on the ground with his limbs twisted, looking like some kind of sinister beast.

There was no extra conversation between Iggy and him; he simply described the task in a straightforward manner.

This is the normal way to communicate with hound riders.

These knights undergo unique training and are renowned as 'relentless pursuers'. They do not communicate with each other verbally and are taciturn. However, once they have chosen a master, they will never betray him.
-
After arranging for the velvet ball to monitor the camp of the fire-wielding martial arts cultivators, Lan En returned to the town in front of the academy.

And when returning the small boat to the fishing guy, it even made an appearance in front of the cuckoo soldiers.

After that, as if reassured by the final deadline he had set for the Flame Watchers, Lan En spent another week preparing in front of the academy.

During this time, Lann occasionally chatted with the busy Tops about the Son of Platinum.

"You really ran into those 'frogs'?" The quiet, bald, bearded student looked surprised. "They didn't do anything to you, did they?"

It's clear that in Realucaria's account to the students, the Son of Platinum seems to be a cruel, inhuman monster.

But Lan En, despite only having met that patrol team once, didn't think so.

"We're at peace, each going our own way." The Witcher shrugged, casually pulling out his four-toed bird claw to show Topps. "Actually, maybe we got along quite well? This is a gift they gave me. Not bad, right?"

(End of this chapter)