Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1909, Section 1881: Appraisal
The excuse that he had "something to do" was not an excuse Lann gave Gideon Ofnil; he genuinely needed some time.

In fact, since Lan En had already stumbled upon the conspiracy of the Moon Princess and her two demigod brothers last night, his stance was essentially set from that moment on.

If you stumble upon someone's plan, whether you like it or not, whether it was intentional or not, they definitely won't give you a friendly look anymore.

After the Phantom Mage Tower killed Servis, the act of taking the 'Beast Claw Stone Piece' from his possession was unknown to the original recipient, the demigod Raccard of the Volcano Mansion.

However, this already constitutes a hostile act.

Something that Lani gave to her brother as a thank-you gift at such a crucial moment couldn't be simple, and Lan En wanted to find out exactly what that 'beast claw stone piece' was.

Furthermore, since yesterday evening, after taking the Dikedas elevator up to the Yatan Plateau, he has hardly had any time to organize his luggage from the journey.

What happened last night was far too convoluted and happened at an incredibly fast pace.

So now that he had some free time, Lan En turned around and walked into the round table hall, going up the wooden staircase on the first floor.

Before I had even finished walking down the stairs, I could hear the clanging of metal being hammered from the top of the stairs, mixed with the sounds of the Qilin and the velvet ball.

"Can this be enhanced? What about this one? And this one, meow!"

"Xilulu."

As Lan En slowly walked up the stairs, he saw the velvet ball enthusiastically taking out all sorts of odds and ends and placing them in front of the anvil of the hybrid blacksmith Xiu Gu.

Qilin also leaned forward, craning its neck, wanting Xiugu to see if its magical horse gear could be enhanced.

However, their enthusiasm did nothing to affect the mixed-breed blacksmith who had been forging iron for countless years and whose heart was as hard as the anvil under the hammer.

"I only enhance weapons, and I only make weapons," the mixed-race blacksmith with a layer of hardened skin and only a few sparse white hairs on his head said coldly. "Don't get involved with any nonsense."

"Huff?"

'Hey, that old guy?'

The Qilin reacted as if it had just swallowed a lemon, taking a step back in disbelief and shaking its head. Even without using variations of the [Axii Sign] or communicating with a guardian spirit, Lan En could understand its meaning.

The Qilin was unhappy, but given its personality, it wouldn't throw a tantrum.

As for the velvet ball, it doesn't matter at all; it was originally intended to enhance the weapon.

The kitten propped up the space expansion pack with a cat paw pattern on its back on the floor, then buried its head inside and started rummaging around.

He pulled out several tools with a clanging sound.

A small pickaxe and a plush ball—this is a proper Palico trained by the New World Survey's Palicoes. When accompanying hunters on expeditions, they also gather herbs and minerals.

Following alongside a demon hunter like Lan En, who is an expert in biology and now also dabbles in Yin-Yang and Five Elements medical theories due to his guardian spirit, the Velvet Ball's gathering skills and frequency are far superior to its counterparts in the New World.

In the wild, there are often many medicinal plants or insects that we collect, and we also collect some unusual minerals.

While in Lienia, the velvet ball used a small pickaxe to knock down a lot of pyroxene and filled it.

There's also the boomerang, a standard accessory for Palicoes. This is one of the few long-range attack methods that Pokémon, as a little battle maniac, has besides bombs.

There were also a lot of other items, such as various knives and daggers.

For a warrior who is truly ready to fight the enemy, who would complain about having too many weapons?
Among them, the most important item for Velvet Ball is its [Valley Raider Knife].

This unique weapon, developed by the Dettel Lynx, a raiding tribe from the New World Valleys, allows them to extract materials from their prey during combat and is also very convenient for theft.

They look like two hollow protractors with jagged edges.

"Xiugu, look at this cat!"

The velvet ball stood in front of the anvil, holding a Valley Raider knife in each hand and raising it toward the hybrid blacksmith. The way the two Valley Raider knives were joined together looked like a kitten holding up a small sun.

The velvet ball stared wide-eyed at the mixed-race blacksmith.

"This can enhance meow?"

"Sure." The blacksmith nodded readily and added, "Just bring the forging stone, and that's it."

"Isn't there a stone here?" The velvet ball pointed to the brilliance stone it had just pulled out. It was still staring longingly at Xiu Gu.

The mixed-race blacksmith wrinkled the thick skin on his brow bone, pursed his lips, and didn't say a word.

As an old blacksmith, he figured it out.

This little cat is a bit mischievous! It's pretending not to know anything here, just trying to get his cooking skills and ingredients for free!
It's not that it's malicious, but it's a bit like it's taking advantage of its cuteness and being cunning.

"That's pyroxene, not forging stone."

Xiu Gu ruthlessly crushed the little cunning of the velvet ball, causing its triangular ears to droop.

"Hey meow~" Just then, Lan En walked up, swayed and pushed the Qilin aside, and reached down to pat the velvet ball's head.

But he said to the mixed-race blacksmith, "But we've never seen what a forging stone looks like, Xiu Gu. Could you show us a sample first? Consider it a purchase."

Upon hearing this, the kitten raised its head again, its ears perking up alertly.

Xiu Gu paused, hammering, and frowned as he looked at Lan En and the other two.

"Hmph, this isn't a place to sell forging stones." He said reluctantly, but still rummaged through the pile of tools around the anvil and pulled out a stone that looked angular. "But this time... consider yourselves lucky. You have one that you didn't finish using, so we can keep it."

"Can I upgrade two of them, meow?"

The velvet ball held its valley raiding knife high.

“If you’re using this kind of weapon in pairs,” Xiu Gu said, taking the Valley Raider Blade from his thick, scaly hands, “then it’s best to upgrade both at once, otherwise there will be an imbalance in power.”

As he spoke, he placed the two valley raiding knives on the anvil and began to hammer away with the large hammer in his hand.

There wasn't a single spark, yet the Valley Raider Blade was already glowing red-hot.

Then he placed the stone that he had just seen in front of Lan En and the others on the anvil and began to hammer and tap it without stopping.

"Amazing."

Lan En praised him from the side, while the velvet ball stared expectantly at its Valley Raider Knife.

"Actually, I obtained some things while I was out on business. Could you help me take a look at them?"

"Do you still think of me as an appraiser? I'm just a bastard old man who can forge iron." Xiu Gu muttered to himself, "Take it out, I'll take a look."

He kept tapping and banging, but he still agreed to help Lan En take a look.

So, while the pair of valley raiding knives on the velvet ball were still being enhanced, Lan En also took out his alchemy leather bag.

These were the spoils of war he had acquired during his journey from Lienia to the Altan Plateau.

He probably knew the effects of these things, but that was all he knew.

"A martial arts cultivator's Fire Pattern Hammer? A Hound's Fang?" Xiu Gu was indeed no simpleton. He merely raised his eyelids and glanced at the item, then promptly stated the exact name of the spoils in Lan En's hand.

"Expert."

Lan En sincerely praised him.

He had only taken these weapons from their original owners; he was not familiar with their names, origins, or characteristics.

Xiu Gu shook his head: "This is a rather well-known oddly shaped weapon in the border area, so it's not surprising that you recognize it."

As he spoke, Xiu Gu gestured with his chin toward the passing Rodel soldiers on patrol.

Soldiers wearing golden tree cloaks moved and stood guard along patrol routes, their feet treading on the wooden floorboards.

As he passed the mixed-race blacksmith at the stairwell, he merely glanced at the weapon beside the anvil before turning his head away and continuing to walk away.

They certainly didn't seem surprised.

Lan En brandished the weapon in his hand: "But compared to the weapon itself, I'm actually more interested in the [Battle Ash] on it."

"The Fire Pattern Hammer has the [Mountain Demon Roar] inscription, and the Hound's Fang has the [Hound Sword Technique] inscription." Xiu Gu spoke as if he didn't need to think or even glance at it, saying, "The [Hound Sword Technique] is a unique combat skill, bound to this sword, and cannot be separated."

"But the [Troll Roar] is more flexible. If you want it, I can remove it from this hammer for you, and you can attach it to a heavy weapon like a hammer or a club later."

Although, according to Lan En's observation, the [Battle Ash] of the border region and the [Combat Techniques] of the Flame World are actually of the same type, there is no doubt that what Xiu Gu said indicates that the [Battle Ash] is much more flexible.

It's like a weapon accessory that can be plugged in and out to take effect.

"And what about this weapon?"

Lann pulled out another weapon, a beautifully crafted Japanese katana. It was the one he had taken from the stealth assassin he had killed last night in the Phantom Mage Tower, along with Servis.

Although the stealth assassin's stealth ability was relatively low-level, appearing almost like a normal person to Lan En when he activated [Spiritual Vision], the battle ash on the sword, which used magic to mimic the effects of swordsmanship, still intrigued Lan En.

"Hmm," Xiu Gu took a closer look this time before muttering, "This should be... [The Famous Sword Moon Shadow]?"

You sound a bit uncertain.

“A novel concoction created by the magical assassins of Serlia.” Xiu Gu shook his head. “It’s probably only a few hundred years old. It’s too novel.”

As he spoke, Xiu Gu shook his left leg, and the iron chain tied to his ankle rattled loudly.

"If they had come up with this a few years later, I probably wouldn't have even heard of it. After all, how long have I been locked up in the Round Table Hall, ordered to forge weapons for you Faded Ones?"

(End of this chapter)