Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1868 (1840) Sword Fight
The velvet ball that landed on the ground resembled a highly bouncy cat ball.

It smoothly and almost effortlessly deflected the force of Lan En throwing it at it.

Immediately afterwards, the cat ball automatically extended, and the plush ball jumped off the ground, landing exactly at the neck height of the blood-robed man casting the spell.

Then a flash of sword light appeared!
The Palico spun around in mid-air and drew its sword! It sliced ​​off the head of the blood-robed man who was casting a spell!

From those emaciated, sickly bodies, a large amount of blood gushed out, perhaps due to the curses they practiced.

The velvet ball was still in mid-air, as was the blood spurting from the man in the blood-red robe's neck.

But at the same time, a spiked club shaped like a raging flame came crashing down on the velvet ball with a whistling sound!
The timing of the ball's jump and slash was perfect.

In terms of strength...

"Clang!!!"

A bright silver light flashed and instantly pierced between the flaming mace and the velvet ball.

The silver light came from a tricky yet precise path, its movement as smooth as mercury flowing across the ground.

In an instant, the silver light collided with the seemingly ordinary spiked club that was being hammered at him, and with a unique technique, it produced a crisp sound and eye-catching sparks.

[The leader of the Watchers] Yaganti felt the recoil force transmitted from the spiked club in his hand.

The force was so strong that it almost swung his arm, which was holding the handle, behind him, and the shockwave strangely swept through his entire body, making him feel uncomfortable all over.

If it weren't for his skillful martial arts, this discomfort would have almost caused him to lose his form!

Beneath the fiery red hood, Yaganti's golden eyes looked at the target who had suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path.

In Lann's hand, Aarondayt was slightly raised, appearing more relaxed than Aganti on the other side.

but……

"Karara!"

At the spot where Lan En parried with his sword, spiderweb-like cracks suddenly appeared beneath his feet as the two weapons clashed!
Furthermore, with Lan En's supporting foot as the center, a roughly circular area of ​​the ground was completely dented by the pressure!
The Witcher's expression remained unchanged; the force he had been bearing on his hands had been completely dissipated into the ground under the guidance of that superb martial arts.

This hammer blow from Aganti, delivered without any prior preparation, was the most basic force of this "Head of the Watchers".

The clash of forces shook the air and the earth, and the velvet ball in mid-air behind Lan En was the first to be thrown away.

Next came the head of the man in the blood-red robe, and then his body.

However, the velvet ball was already an experienced warrior. It had already adjusted its posture in mid-air, and the airflow from the collision between Lann and Aganti became its acceleration device.

The calico kitten floated lightly like a drifting catkin, quickly pouncing towards the enemies in another direction of the camp.

At this point, the appearance of the roadblock camp that originally belonged to the Cuckoo Knights was finally revealed to Lan En and his group.

Several corpses of the Cuckoo Knights lay on the ground where their camp used to be. The current rain had caused their blue and red patchwork fabric to stick to their armor, stained with blood and mud, making them look disheveled and filthy.

The camp was full of fire-wielding martial arts practitioners, as well as blood-robed men serving as auxiliary troops.

The ammunition for the two catapults, which were actually oversized [Academy Magic Pots], were originally covered by large tarpaulins and piled up in a corner of the camp.

But now that the tarpaulin has been lifted, it is clear that it is already in use.

There was no one around to load the ammunition; the fire-wielding martial arts cultivators all had one hand holding a weapon, so they couldn't carry anything in this position.

As for the people in blood robes, they might be able to use self-harm to cast spells, but judging from their physiques, carrying heavy loads is not practical for them.

Lann could only assume that the magic attached to these two war machines would automatically pull nearby ammunition to them when necessary.

Otherwise, the reloading speed during that bombardment would have been quite abnormal.

Fortunately, he has now broken into the camp, and the two catapults and the large academy magic pot are now just for show.

In the instant his gaze swept over everyone present, the situation at hand was already imprinted in Lan En's mind.

Without a doubt, the Flame Watchers must have learned about the sealed prison where Adam was imprisoned, and in a moment of desperation, they directly stormed into the enemy-controlled area and destroyed the roadblock camp on Pirum Avenue.

They wanted to block Lan En's way back to the Asian Plateau.

This aligns with Lann's assessment of their level of vigilance—since they were engaged in rebellion, their alertness and nerves would naturally be at their peak.

only……

Lan En glanced briefly at the blocked entrance to the Pirum Road in the camp.

On the opposite side, Yagangti's fiery red robes fluttered.

Flame-wielding martial artists typically wield their maces as one-handed weapons, while in their other hand, they usually wrap a catalyst necessary for casting prayers around their palm. In borderlands, this catalyst for prayers is called a holy seal.

His spiked club was suddenly blocked by the faded one who thrust it into the middle, and his weapon hand was momentarily swung behind him into an unfavorable position.

As a warrior whose lifespan was unknown, and the leader of the Flame Watchers, Aganti remained remarkably calm. The skills of this Faded One before him were indeed impressive; he appeared to be from the Reed Lands beyond the Borderlands, or perhaps a member of the Fallen Leaf Faction.

But it's okay.

The border region was originally the center of the world, a place where laws were established. In the years before isolation and closure, veterans had seen many people come here seeking miracles, fame, or even death.

You won't lose your composure just because the opponent's techniques are unusual.

With his weapon-wielding right hand deflected, Aganti's left hand pressed forward, aimed directly at Lann's face!
The holy mark wrapped around his left palm lit up with fire, and a circular emblem that Lan En had recently seen on the parchment pages of the [Evil God's Flame] book was almost forming!

This emblem should be the [Giant Flame Emblem], representing the giants on the snowy mountain.

Emblems possess tangible power at borders and represent the ownership and stance of that power and magic.

As Argonde made his move, it was clear that what he would unleash was [Giant Flame]!
But at this moment, Lan En's eyes were glancing sideways, his right hand gripped his sword, but his left hand was not idle either!

A ‘click’!
Smaug's gauntlets, sharp as dragon claws, gripped Argentina's outstretched arm.

Beneath the fiery red hood, the head of the Watchers raised his equally fiery red eyebrows and widened his eyes.

"Humph!"

The unconscious exertion produced the sound of exhaling.

Lann and Yaganti's arms instantly became entangled!
"Oh!"

In a split second, force was applied simultaneously from hand to arm! Arganti tried to break free, but Lann held on tightly!

The air itself resonated with a muffled thunderous sound from the collision, which occurred over an extremely short time and distance!

Finally, after a brief entanglement, the arm clad in bone-white armor suddenly pressed down on the arm wearing a red robe, aiming it at Aganti himself!

At this point, the fiery red light on the holy mark wrapped around the opponent's palm faded, and the red circular emblem also vanished without a trace, failing to activate.

"What does this mean, Your Excellency Aganti?"

Lan En used grappling techniques to grip the other man's wrist, forcing his palm to face only himself, but his tone remained very calm.

"Flame Watchers ambush the Faded Ones of the Round Table Hall... Do you want to betray Twofinger, betray the Golden Law?"

On Lann's retina, a waterfall of data was cascading down.

In that brief moment of struggle, Aganti's arm made thirteen attempts to break free. But with each attempt, Lann clearly sensed the biomechanics of his body and relayed the data to Mentos for analysis.

Then comes the obvious response and countermeasures.

Now Lann has locked Aganti's wrist, which is not only a matter of strength, but also a matter of technical dominance.

“That is truly slander, Mr. Faded One.”

His wrists cracked as he was twisted, but Yagangti's voice remained as hoarse and calm as a hot breeze, with only his fiery red eyebrows twitching occasionally.

"We were merely acting in self-defense against the Cuckoo Knights, as usual. The only difference this time was that we captured a camp. Yet you attacked us without any reason. Is this something Lord Two-Fingers of the Round Table has permitted?"

"You mean..." Lan En looked into the other person's eyes, while behind him, the velvet ball was easily weaving among a group of fire-wielding martial arts cultivators and blood-robed men, "This is a misunderstanding?"

With no one to protect, the plush ball's fighting power can be fully unleashed.

In addition, although the Qilin was afraid of those blood-red thorns, its lightning bolts were now slashing down from the clouds one after another!

“If Your Excellency can apologize to us,” Arganti said, seemingly oblivious to the scene behind Lann, “then we can consider this a misunderstanding.”

Lan En nodded first, then asked, "So, the emblem that flashed across your hand just now... that emblem that wasn't the Golden Tree or the Golden Law, was also a misunderstanding?"

“You’ve simply misjudged it,” Arganti said without changing his expression. “My prayer hadn’t even been released yet, and the emblem had only just begun to appear in outline. How could the prayers of the Flame Watchers possibly deviate from the gold…”

"So!" Lann interrupted him before he could finish, "[Evil God's Flame] is also a prayer that you researched and developed under the Golden Law faith?"

"..."

The drizzle pattered on the grass and road. Beneath his fiery red hood, the head of the Watchers slowly shut his mouth, which was still uttering words.

"Oh!"

In the blink of an eye, it was as swift as a rabbit and as fast as a falcon!

The flame-shaped spiked club that had been placed behind him was swung from behind Aganti to in front of him!
The misty drizzle was swept away by that force, creating a distinct vacuum zone!
But it seemed like Lan En knew exactly what Bia had planned to do!
One foot, which was standing in the crater, was raised and kicked straight at the mace before it could complete its arc!
At the same time, Aarondayt, like a silver ribbon in Lann's hand, slashed through the air with a 'sizzle' towards Argonti's neck.

The head of the surveillance team remained expressionless, then suddenly leaned back.

It was as if 'Karala' felt nothing at all during the action, even though his left wrist had been torn and his bones crushed!
"Do it!"

Beneath his fiery red beard, Yaganti roared out!
(End of this chapter)