Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1856, Chapter 1828: War Ashes
But it has already happened!

A crisp "click!" sounded.

Amidst the bewildered gaze of the Knight Commander Azalea beneath his helmet, Lan En effortlessly caught the knight's greatsword, which had just been extended in front of him and had lost its momentum and strength, and placed it in his gauntlet as easily as picking up a stick!
The most dangerous and unpredictable moment is when you make a move but miss your target.

Even a novice who has just picked up a sword should understand this.

Meanwhile, the Cuckoo Knight Commander could only watch helplessly as Lan En, having calculated the exact distance of the sword tip's thrust, grasped his harmless blade.

And in an instant! A tremendous force, taking advantage of the moment when his limbs were most relaxed! Directly pulled the forward-thrusting blade back!

The tip of the knight's greatsword was instead aimed at the neck of the Cuckoo Knight Commander!

It looked as if the knight was spontaneously trying to commit suicide by stabbing himself in the neck with his sword!
“Wait! Your eyes!” Under his helmet, the Cuckoo Knight Commander exclaimed, causing the fluffy bird feather ornament on his helmet to sway. “You’re a Faded One?! The Faded One who just arrived in Lienia?!”

At the same time, his body beneath his armor was also trying its best to regain its composure and gather muscle power while he was saying those two sentences.

"No, no, no! This is a misunderstanding! This must be a misunderstanding! You're here to investigate..."

“I also thought we should be collaborators, Cuckoo.” Before the Knight Commander could finish speaking, Lann calmly interrupted him.

"But now it seems that even in a purely professional collaboration, you and I are not really on the same page."

Lan En's eyes passed over him and looked at the Platinum Son, whose head and face had been peeled off, in the yellow mud in the distance, and the cloth-wrapped spear stuck next to him.

Turning his gaze back, Lan En's eyes remained calm.

"Now, your body has passed the awkward initial stage. Want to try and fight back?"

The knight's greatsword made a 'clattering' sound as steel clashed within Lann's gauntlets.

Try it? From the moment she started talking to stall for time, attempting to get her body back to its peak condition, Commander Cuckoo has never stopped!

But the key thing is... I've tried it, and it doesn't work!

Even through a full-face helmet, Lan En could see the bewilderment in the other person's subtle movements.

"Looks like you've tried it."

"...Wait! Wait...!"

"Pfft!"

Lan En gripped the blade, aiming it at the neck of the Cuckoo Knight Commander, which was protected by armor.

The two are similar in size, but there is a significant difference in their strength.

A knight's greatsword was lying there. Lan En raised his leg and knee, slamming his knee into the hilt of the sword hanging upside down!
Instantly, the tip of the sword pierced straight through the fine neck guard of the Cuckoo Knight Commander upon impact!
With undiminished momentum, the blade first tore through steel, then entered flesh and bone, smashing through bone all the way, and finally pierced out diagonally from the back of his head!

The sword tip, piercing through the bone, pushed the full-coverage helmet upwards, producing a harsh metallic scraping sound.

Blood splattered inside the helmet and gradually accumulated.

The other end was also dripping down the blade from the neck with a 'hissing' sound.

The Cuckoo Knight Commander, who was originally wrestling with Lan En, even causing his entire armor to tremble slightly and make a clanging sound, was now engaged in a struggle with Lan En.

After that, his body suddenly went limp.

Almost simultaneously, the Cuckoo Knights across the entire battlefield began to panic.

The death of the Cuckoo Knight Commander signifies that they are completely unable to match the enemy in terms of high-end combat capabilities.

The remaining few Cuckoo Knights had absolutely no chance of surviving or escaping.

The velvet ball no longer needs to worry about the powerless Platinum Sons and deliberately confront the enemy to delay them, allowing it to freely use its speed and agility to inflict damage.

What's even more surprising is Letina, the Platinum Son Archer, who was defended by a single Cuckoo Knight and had been blocked completely.

She was actually the one who achieved the most victories in the final battle after the death of the Cuckoo Knight Commander.

The remaining majority of the Cuckoo Knights died from her arrows after Lann dealt with the Cuckoo Knight who was watching her.

The magic archer is highly effective, easily piercing armor and human bodies. They are also very efficient; after eliminating one target, they can simply turn and draw their bow to switch targets.

However, this combat style relies heavily on teamwork.

Only when someone disrupts the enemy's defenses can the magic archer have the opportunity to unleash its maximum attack power.

Otherwise, the situation would have occurred before, where Letina, a magic archer, was completely unable to perform on the battlefield.

The battle ended quickly, and the survivors of the Platinum Children who had fled looked back shakily and gathered with Letina, who was riding a wolf.

Their large, metallic heads remained expressionless and silent. Despite being the victims of their slaughter, bystanders could not sense any emotion from them.

But even as they surrounded Letina, riding on the wolf, her snow-white face still revealed sorrow and bitterness.

The sons of platinum seem to be accustomed to silent communication, communication without expression.

Letina comforted the survivors, but it's also possible that the discriminated-against Platinum Children had become accustomed to this precarious life as prey.

The demon archer rode a wolf, walking across the muddy ground towards Lan En and the velvet ball. At that moment, Lan En stood before the cloth-wrapped spear, with the velvet ball beside him, its head bowed.

“Thank you for your help, Faded Ones. And…” Letina looked at the calico kitten.

"My name is Fluffy Ball Meow." The Elf Cat raised its head. "I'm sorry, I couldn't save more people."

Although Letina's expression showed sorrow, it was not particularly intense.

However, anyone who witnessed her fighting just now should understand that it wasn't because she didn't care about the life or death of the Platinum Children; perhaps it was simply because the Platinum Children race wasn't very good at expressing their emotions.

The Sons of Platinum were hunted down by the Cuckoo, but when the Cuckoo Knight Commander declared that they were 'not normal beings,' Letina did not refute it.

If both sides corroborate this, then it's probably true.

“Thank you very much, Velvet Ball,” Letina said with a slight sigh. “But please don’t blame yourself. No one can blame someone who extends a helping hand with a noble heart. The Son of Platinum is only physically disabled; we are not shameless.”

"I'm not blaming myself! That would be too weak!" The fluffy ball's face was now resolute. "I won't be discouraged by one failure! As a warrior, I'm just reminding myself to remember the lesson, meow!"

“That’s great, then.” Letina nodded solemnly to the velvet ball.

Behind her, the Platinum Sons, whose heads resembled frogs, began cleaning up the battlefield. They removed the Cuckoo Knights' exquisite armor, took their weapons, and leather pouches and the like.

Those who were just being hunted turned around and began scavenging the dead on the battlefield where they were hunted.

This scenario seems utterly absurd.

But when life is tough, it's just a normal thing to adapt to.

The sons of platinum have clearly adapted.

"Are you two companions?" Letina asked first, then said, "These spoils of war should rightfully belong to you two."

The Witcher shook his head: "No, we won't really need it. I'm actually more interested in the [Battle Ash] on the weapons."

“I’m sorry,” Letina shook her head coolly, “we don’t have any [War Ash] on hand right now, so we can’t help you copy the war ash from these weapons. Even if we did, we don’t have a blacksmith. If you like any of the war ash, you’d better take the weapon along with it.”

In the end, Lan En took the greatsword of the Cuckoo Knight Commander.

What interests him most about [War Ash - Shining Stone Magic Gravel] is that it's a quick way for warriors to use magic with their weapons.

The so-called "war ash" is a unique force in this border region, which has belonged to warriors and strongmen who have been fighting endlessly since ancient times.

In Lan En's opinion, the so-called "Battle Ashes" are actually very similar to the "Combat Techniques" of the Flame World.

Each weapon is imprinted with the warriors' most prized techniques and the power they've honed to the very core of their being. This way, regardless of their physical or mental state, as long as their spirit and strength meet the minimum requirements, they can unleash its full power.

As a prosperous age of gods, the "battle ash" of the border region is far more abundant than the "combat skills" of the world of fire.

Not only do they contain the martial arts techniques that warriors are proud of, but they can also be inscribed with a considerable number of spells and prayers.

For example, [Radiant Stone Magic Particle] is a relatively simple spell in the Realucaria Academy. When it appears in the form of [Battle Ash], it can be followed up with a magical thrusting burst.

In Lan En's view, the biggest difference between [Battle Ash] and [Battle Skill] is its operability.

As Letina stated, [Battle Ash] can be copied and transferred.

With the right tools and techniques, you can use [Disabled War Ash] to copy the war ash already on other weapons, and [War Ash] can be immediately installed on other weapons.

Just like weapon attachments, you can use them as soon as you plug them in.

When Lan En first saw the [Combat Techniques] of the Flame World, he felt that it was a power that could easily cultivate outstanding warriors on a large scale.

The [Battle Ash] in the border area is clearly superior. It is more convenient and has greater scalability on top of [Combat Skills].

Lan En's research and speculation on this matter is as follows: The combat skills of the Flame World actually rely on the soul power of the warriors, imprinted on their weapons. Therefore, one weapon corresponds to one combat skill.

However, in the border region, the foundation of [Battle Ash] should also be the profound soul power within the weapon. Yet, under the blessing of the Golden Tree, their souls are immortal, allowing them to reincarnate stably.

It's normal for the soul power deeply embedded in weapons to be transferred or copied under certain techniques.

The Witcher took the knight's greatsword and tentatively reached out to touch the large wolf that Lettina was riding.

Talking to Letina always gave Lan En the feeling of facing Sirius from the world of fire.

Especially Sirius, who, with his help, killed his already deranged grandfather.

However, Sirius had lost all interest in life because he had achieved his life goals and concerns.

Letina... must be suffering from the congenital defects of the Platinum Child, right?
According to Tops, although she is a Platinum Child in human form, she is destined to lose her legs and have a short lifespan.

It's not surprising that such a life naturally carries an atmosphere of sorrow.

"What's its name?" Lan En asked, patting the big wolf's head.

Letina scratched the wolf's neck, her cool tone tinged with tenderness: "Its name is Rob."

(End of this chapter)