Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1932 1904. Consultation
Melina's deal... To be honest, when Lan En agreed, his mind was mostly focused on helping this girl's soul as much as he could.

I didn't expect her to provide any guidance for what I had seen and heard.

After all, he had read through the entire collection of books by Sir Gideon Ophniel, so he had some knowledge of the borderlands.

Among the faded ones, Gideon was called "the wisest," which speaks volumes about his intelligence, knowledge, and experience.

But now, Melina isn't doing a bad job, she's actually doing a bit... too good.

"Whether it's Seria in Gelid, or the Caria royal family and the Reyalukalia Academy in Lienia, all the magical technologies in the world today can basically be said to originate from the underground Eternal City."

"During the Eternal City era, those people committed heinous crimes, angering the Supreme Will. As a result, all the Eternal Cities were destroyed overnight. There was a severe loss of technology and talent."

"After returning to the ground, the inhabitants of the Eternal City became hostile and wary of each other due to the great disaster, which eventually developed into the magical forces that are now scattered all over the ground."

If the devastation was caused by a natural disaster, then the people in the Eternal City might be able to unite under immense pressure.

However, if the disaster is caused by human error, because some people in this Eternal City did something that angered the Supreme Will and caused a calamity, then the survivors will inevitably distrust, be wary of, and be hostile to each other.

After all, you brought this trouble upon yourself, but the consequences fall on everyone's shoulders.

According to Melina, most of the magical organizations on Earth today originated from this migration from the Eternal City, so we can infer the past from the present.

In the past, the Eternal City underground was probably similar to the Reyalukalia Academy and the Kalia Royal Family, an academic organization structure with the goal and pursuit of studying magic.

Is this academic organization free from internal divisions of schools of thought? Are there no academic cliques? Are there no opposing stances due to conflicting research philosophies?

how could it be possible.

Right now, in the Reyalucaria Academy, everyone in the various classrooms looks down on each other.

If reaching a consensus and uniting as one were so easy, why would we need to emphasize it every day?

It's precisely because it's not easy that we keep striving for it.

Your school of thought has caused such a huge disaster, destroying the Eternal City. How could the other schools possibly let this go so easily?

Given this situation, it's easy to understand why the Reallucalia and Caria royal families, who have both lived in Lienia since ancient times, have always been mortal enemies.

The conflict between the two major magical organizations in Lienia is a continuation of the conflict between the two factions during the Eternal City era, which was later intensified by the forced relocation.

This is genuine mutual animosity that has lasted for thousands of years.

The Cuckoo Knights may have originally been a faction within the Eternal City, but they weakened after ascending to the surface and began to rely on Realucaria.

"After arriving on Earth, Serlia has made continuous technological innovations. For example, their silent [Night Magic] is very suitable for surprise attacks and assassinations."

Melina described it with a calm and unfazed tone that belied her age.

"However, it seems that the highest achievement of concealment magic still comes from the Eternal City era. After all, their research direction is different from that when they were underground."

It's not a matter of 'the older, the stronger'; rather, it's simply that a change in research focus has led to a lag in certain areas.

Lan En was also a researcher, and he completely understood Melina's point of view.

However, he also has problems.

"Melina, you just said that the inhabitants of the Eternal City 'returned to the ground'?"

The Witcher stood in the empty space where the Phantom Mage Tower was no longer visible. Qilin tried to taste the golden leaves, while Velvet Ball tried to eavesdrop, but gave up after getting dizzy and simply sat down on the ground to start packing.

Melina looked at the Witcher with her right eye open.

“You are very perceptive,” she praised calmly, so much so that it was hard to tell that it was a compliment. “The origin of all magic ultimately lies with those ancient stargazers on the snowy mountains of the borderlands.”

"Magic has been inextricably linked to the stars since its inception."

"Afterwards, they began to follow the shooting star, just like the Star Callers on the borderland now, digging everywhere and searching for the fallen star. In the end, they dug all the way to the bottom of the earth. In the depths of the earth where the sky is not visible, they found a black moon."

"This is the origin of the Eternal City."

From a phantom mage tower and the stealth abilities of the assassins during the Black Knife Conspiracy, one can trace the origins of magic in the Borderlands, the Eternal City, and the origins of the major magical organizations on the surface today.

Melina's insight and knowledge exceeded Lan En's expectations.

— Sir Hundred's collection of books... could it be considered a rather rudimentary private library?
Lann even suspected that he had read a lot of 'children's books' during those days in the Round Table Hall.

Is it similar to Blue Cat's 3000 Questions?

Thinking about it this way, it's a bit like messing with my own mindset.

Lan En shook his head, trying to banish the thought from his mind.

“So,” he steered the conversation back to the main point, “that on that night of black knives, no one really could spot those black-knife assassins, right?”

Melina tugged at her collar. These clothes were from the home of a resident who had helped him in the Bountiful Forest and given him a painted shield.

The style is very common, but Melina is beautiful and has a slender, youthful figure. When you're pretty, nothing looks bad on you.

“That was the pinnacle of concealment magic during the Eternal City era,” Melina said, seemingly unrelated, without directly responding. “Then, the wrath of the Supreme Will destroyed the Eternal City.” But Lann nodded knowingly.

In the Eternal City, they already possessed the power to provoke the Supreme Will.

Even if Queen Marika were to personally smash the Elden Ring, it would only imprison this sinner inside the Golden Tree.

The supreme will had no intention of turning upside down the entire border region in a fit of rage.

This suggests that the Eternal City's ability to cause trouble is probably even greater than the current state of the Golden Dynasty.

As the pinnacle of the Eternal City era, the Concealment Veil can temporarily make the wearer invisible to the point that even the Golden Prince cannot see or detect it, which makes perfect sense.

Melina was always very quiet unless she had something worth talking about or Lann didn’t ask her directly.

She could stand there like a plant, doing nothing, like a piece of wood.

This made even lively creatures like the plush ball and the unicorn seem a little uncomfortable around her.

However, when that eye looked at Lan En, it always seemed to be filled with contemplation and observation.

"coming."

Not long after they finished talking about the Eternal City, Lann turned to look at a golden, lush forest.

Baglem's figure emerged from the shadows of the golden leaves.

However, what emerged from the woods even before him, this faded figure, was a weapon he carried on his shoulder.

It was a large weapon that was two heads taller than a person.

It appears to be a greatsword, with a hilt and handguard. However, the blade itself is quite peculiar.

Like two iron plates, twisted and intertwined into a spiral, connecting to the hilt of this greatsword.

It looks more like a paper roll than a greatsword.

The blade is made of a 'paper roll', about the width of a palm, and has a metallic white color.

This is the weapon that enjoys a reputation in Baglem's hands: the Greatsword for Hunting Gods.

When he first met the White Wolf War Demon, Lan En had asked Melina about it, and that's how he learned about the sword's background.

It was still the same Night-Eyed Queen who had once vied with Queen Marika for the throne; this was a greatsword that only high-ranking figures within her faction could possess.

The laws borne by Queen Twilight Eyes concern death, while Queen Marika's Golden Law ushered in the Radiant Era of Life.

In their struggle for divine positions, they bestowed their legal powers upon their subordinate forces. Then they began to wage war against each other.

In border regions, wars for the throne are always fought in this way.

This is not a duel between gods and men, but a life-or-death struggle between two forces.

This greatsword contains the iconic [Black Flame] of the Night-Colored Eyes Queen's forces, which can be activated by activating Battle Ash.

In the ancient past, this black flame was even able to hunt down gods.

However, with the defeat of the Night-Colored Eyes Queen, the Law of Death on her body was sealed, and Black Flame lost the power to kill even gods, leaving only the heavy nature of being a flame.

And now, this sword is gleamingly carried on the shoulder of a faded figure in the Round Table Hall.

Even when walking through the Golden Dynasty, this weapon, which once belonged to the dynasty's mortal enemy, will not cause trouble for anyone. This is the convenience and authority of being directly under the control of two fingers.

"Things are just as you described."

A muffled voice came from inside the helmet. Bagram spoke in a heavy tone as he emerged from the golden forest to the witcher.

“I think Laqad is really determined to march on Rodel… Hey, you and your guys are having a good time here.”

Lan En turned around and saw that Qilin was admiring the golden leaves of another tree species, while Rongbuqiu had just hung up her backpack and stood up.

The girl with light reddish-brown hair had vanished without a trace.

Are you quite shy?

Lan En mentally complained, but naturally replied to what the other person was saying.

"Did you follow my instructions and suddenly cut down his 'ladder'?"

“Cut it down.” Baglem shook his head and walked over, leading a tall warhorse behind him. He had just emerged from the woods. “Rakad’s face turned ugly immediately.”

"Then?"

“And then… he still persisted.” Baglem looked up at the Witcher. “I’m sorry, I never really trusted your judgment before. But now I’ve finally given up.”

"It's nothing, after all, it's our first time meeting." Lan En shook his head indifferently, "But in this way, I can also use your help to find out Larkad's attitude."

(End of this chapter)