Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1871 (1843). Hound Sword Technique
【Troll Roar】This battle ash is one of the support items that Aganty received from the royal family of Caria.

Although this battle ash is powerful, the Flame Watchers originally had one, but they didn't bring it down from the snow mountain.

The spiked club in Yaganti's hand was only equipped with a very common and versatile weapon: [Endurance].

The trolls have a long history with the Caria royal family. Even before the war of the giants, the Caria royal family signed a pact and forged a friendship with these distant relatives of the giants.

Some of these mountain trolls even became knights of Caria, fighting alongside the Caria royal family against the invasion of the Golden Dynasty during the War of the Giants.

Therefore, it did not surprise Aganty at all that the Kalia royal family possessed this war ash.

The howling roar swept all the way!
Furthermore, they are highly cohesive under the regulations of the War Ash.

After Lann dodged, the shockwave from the roar carved a gruesome gash right in front of Agangti!

Undeterred by its momentum, it flew for over a kilometer and rushed into the forest where Lan En and the others had come out earlier.

In the rain and fog, countless trees in the already gloomy forests of Lienia fell like dominoes.

The sound of the tree trunk tearing and the rustling of the leaves seemed to stretch far into the distance.

The roar of the mountain demon was so loud that it even suppressed the thunderous roar of the Qilin.

An eerie silence fell over everyone in the entire roadblock camp.

The sound is still there, but your eardrums, still reeling from the shock, can't feel it until they recover.

However, Lan En was not affected in any way.

After all, he had already predicted the range of influence of the [Mountain Demon Roar], and he had instantly appeared.

The roar's effects couldn't harm his [Ear of Lyman].

But it seems that [Troll Roar] did not affect the opponent in front of Lan En.

Hound riders do not communicate with people verbally, and they don't really need sound when fighting.

The hound knights, who had been cooperating with Aganti to block Lann's movement, seized the opportunity when Lann was caught off guard, just as the two had predicted!

In the eerie silence that was barely audible to onlookers, even the Hound Rider's [Hound Steps] had lost its rapid whistling sound.

All that could be seen were his limbs, which were lying prone on the ground, and the force of the impact kicked up a splash of mud and water.

Like a silent film.

When they reappeared, almost simultaneously, Lann dodged out of the terrifying roar range of Arganti, while the Hound Rider appeared beside Lann as if chasing its prey!

The Witcher was indeed in an awkward and precarious position, just as the Hound Rider had observed.

So without hesitation.

The Hound's Fang, with its wave-like blade, began to dance in the Hound Knight's hand.

Unlike the [Hound Step], which is a burst-type movement method, this is now the battle dust on this machete, the [Hound Sword Technique]!
After being trained, hound riders carry out their daily lives and activities in a contorted posture with all four limbs on the ground.

Their swordsmanship naturally matched their contorted body postures.

To Lan En, the opening move of the [Hound Sword Technique] looked like a backflip performed with one left hand supporting the body.

The right hand holding the machete is naturally placed at the side of the body, and when the body performs a backflip, it naturally swings upward in an upward trajectory.

The activation of the battle ash left a white afterimage on the wavy blade, so much so that the air in which the cleaver sliced ​​through was left with a diagonal upward slash.

"when!"

Even though he had only just gained a foothold, Lan En still managed to block the slash that came from a tricky spot on his side.

The technique and timing were impeccable; the sparks from the colliding blades created a dazzling circle.

However, because the soul power covered his entire body after the Battle Ash was activated, making it difficult to be interrupted or affected, the Hound Knight still managed to complete the entire swing.

And using the momentum of the backflip, he braced himself with one hand and widened the distance between himself and Lan En again.

It looks like they don't want to get involved anymore.

The Hound Rider really didn't want to get entangled anymore... because he had already achieved his goal!

The faded figure before them was already unsteady on his feet, yet he still managed to forcefully block the [Hound Sword Technique], which was enough to prove his powerful skills and excellent qualities.

Even so, having already lost his footing, he still managed to fight against the enemy's fodder attack... Now, no matter what, he should be unable to cope with the next attack!

The attack didn't come from the Hound Rider. After all, while the hounds are fast, the Hound Rider still felt the interval was too long when facing Lann, and that the powerful Faded hero probably had enough time to recover.

Therefore, after the Hound Rider unleashed his swordsmanship, it was Aganty who cut straight in at the next split second!
【Troll's Roar】This Battle Ash isn't just a single roar; just like 【Battle Ash - Shining Stone Shard】can follow up with a magical thrust after firing a Shining Stone spell, 【Troll's Roar】also has follow-up moves.

It wasn't a thrust... it was a hard slam!

"Drink!"

Yaganti's two hands, one wrist bone was broken and the other was intact, but at this moment he was holding his flame-shaped spiked club without any hindrance!
After taking a big step forward, he slammed his fist down on Lan En!
Using [Battle Ash], as long as it can still be used, even if the user is missing limbs and their body's strength is almost exhausted, it still possesses the power of their prime!
Aganti's sudden forward step wasn't enough to allow him to bridge the distance and strike Lann on the forehead with the spiked club that left a white afterimage.

At most, it would only hit the ground two steps away from the Witcher.

But then...

"Boom!!!"

Earth and rocks flew everywhere, and the ground rolled over!

Centered on the spot where Yagangti struck with his mace, the surrounding area seemed to experience an earthquake!
Huge cracks and collapses appeared in the ground, wide enough to swallow a person!

The stones deep beneath the soil were suddenly jolted out of the earth! Then they were shattered by the violent force!

Not to mention Pelum Avenue, which was blocked by this camp, with the cobblestones on the road being squeezed and flying straight into the air.

A wave of energy imbued with spiritual power erupted and spread along with the strikes that followed the [Mountain Demon Roar]!
Being hit by this blast wave is actually not much different from being struck head-on by that spiked club.

The shockwave from the follow-up hammer blow of [Mountain Demon Roar] swept in, precisely when Lan En was at his most vulnerable!
Beneath the fiery red hood, the eyes of the [Head of the Watchers], which gleamed with golden blessings, burned with a murderous intent as fierce as flames.

He seized the fleeting opportunity, but even so, he kept a close eye on Lan En, who seemed to have no time to make an effective response.

Meanwhile, the hound rider, who had just used a backflip to break free and travel a great distance, was now poised to pounce!
Without a doubt, even if Lan En could withstand the subsequent heavy blows of [Mountain Demon Roar], he would immediately seize the opportunity to finish him off.

This posture of 'holding back but being ready to act at any time' is itself a form of interference and deterrence against Lan En's subsequent decision-making.

In the battles between heroes like them, even the slightest hesitation or sluggishness in thinking could be the direct cause of defeat.

The hound rider wanted to achieve this effect.

Therefore, beneath that bird-beak helmet, he kept his eyes fixed on Lann's eyes, hoping to see the hesitation in the faded one's gaze and confirm the effectiveness of his tactics.

But... he and Yaganti were both disappointed.

Lann, his body slightly tilted on the shattered ground, didn't even turn his head to look at the spreading shockwave that was about to sweep in from under Aganti's hand.

Instead, they only looked at the hound rider who was still far away.

There was no sign of being caught out or being attacked from both sides in his eyes. Instead, he seemed... quite relaxed.
'How long can you maintain your swordsmanship?'

For some reason, the emotion he vaguely sensed in the other person's eyes made the hound rider's breathing become heavier inside his helmet.

Yes, he looks ready to pounce, but the reason he can maintain this posture is because he is still in the process of casting the [Hound Sword Technique].

【Hound Sword Skill】is a combat fodder that can perform an attack action in two stages.

The first part is the slash that came out during the backflip just now. This slash was both offensive and helped to create a safe distance from the enemy.

The second part involves creating distance beforehand, then using the hound's pace to charge forward, unexpectedly appearing in front of the enemy again, delivering a second, sudden strike with momentum!

By repeatedly pulling the enemy at a distance, disrupting their mindset and posture, and then striking decisively, the Hound Knights unleash their [Hound Sword Technique]!
However, like all segmented attacks, the second stage of the attack is quite flexible after it is activated; it is not mandatory to use it.

If the user deliberately stops, or if the transition period after the first attack is not completed in time, then the second attack of the War Ash will not be launched.

The Hound Rider is currently in the transition period between the first and second attacks.

He could certainly act as if he could immediately unleash his attack and pose a threat to Lan En.

However, he has already dragged out this transition period a bit too long. If he doesn't launch the second forward dash slash soon, he won't be able to connect to the second stage of [Hound Sword Technique].

Although he is perfectly capable of using the Hound Step on his own, it is definitely not as smooth as the weapon's ash.

Hound Riders are special knights trained in large numbers; the battle ash on their weapons is a testament to the skill of the strongest among them.

This can be considered an example of the advanced nature of the War Ash system.

However, the "Hound Rider" Daryl was completely baffled—how did the other party know the extent of his swordsmanship?

(End of this chapter)