Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1951 1923. The Final Piece of the Magic Puzzle

Strangely enough, the captured Forge Knight and his captor, Lann, developed a sense of familiarity with each other.

The Forge Knight refused to fight Lann again, but he couldn't refuse Lann's observation of him from outside the cell.

This doesn't mean the relationship between the two has become harmonious; it's just that the Forge Knight is currently unable to resist.

If given the chance to return to the Volcano Mansion, Lan En felt that this guy would definitely not hesitate at all.

There was no further communication between the two; what they could say had already been said on previous occasions, before he was even taken to Rodel's underground prison.

The Witcher's eyes were sharp and deep as he scanned the Forge Knight from head to toe.

He tried to remember and understand the power within him, the power of the [Primordial Golden Tree] life furnace.

Although the Forge Knights are merely the personal guard of Govre, the "First King" of the Golden Dynasty, their power originates from the Forge of Life.

Even their armor and weapons were made of pure gold, which had been imbued with the colors of life.

The Forge Knight before me is armed with a sword and shield, a weapon style derived from one of the two chief Forge Knights, Ordovician.

However, according to records, there is another fighting style among the Forge Knights.

Those Forge Knights would use a huge, strange spear, the tip of which resembled a blooming chrysanthemum with a spike protruding from the center.

That was the fighting style brought about by Silyuya, one of the two chief knights.

It is said that the shape of that great spear was inspired by the Furnace of Life.

If we were to imagine the appearance of the Furnace of Life based on the shape of that giant spear, Lan En thought it might be a huge structure, formed by countless tree roots converging towards the center like chrysanthemums.

The Forge of Life is the former form of the Golden Tree, and it can no longer be seen.

Perhaps only the Forge Knights can now see the imitation and pursuit of this ancient power from the time when life first appeared.

The more fragments of power Lann discovered from the Forge Knight, the more certain he became that the spell he envisioned... was about to be completed!

Based on the experimental notes of the genius sorcerer Arzú in the magical medieval era.

By combining the "Double Cross of Alzu" and the "Multiple Triangles of Alzu," one's body can undergo near-insane mutations at an evolutionary speed.

The powerful creatures of the New World, and their stable hereditary traits, served as the blueprint for mutation.

Furthermore, in the magical Japanese Sengoku world, there's a hint from Abe no Seimei across time: the energy source for magic should be [Spirit Stones].

And now, the final piece of the puzzle for this spell—a framework system that can unify the traits of various organisms—has been revealed to Lan En.

As the priest of Lienia, the great tortoise Milie, said—in the time when life first appeared, there were no heretics in the world, and all things could unite and blend together.

That is the power of the Life Forge of the [Initial Golden Tree]!

As the origin of life in the world where the boundary is located, the Life Furnace is equivalent to the overall blueprint and database of all life in this world.

If it can become the blueprint and framework for the magic envisioned by Lann, that would be more than enough.

However, although he has found a general blueprint and framework that can bring his envisioned spell closer to perfection, Lan En is still unable to complete it immediately.

The reason for this is unknown; it's because the Forge Knight was in a calm state, so the power within his body wasn't very apparent unless he activated it.

Or perhaps the power of the Forge Knights was originally just a pursuit and exploration of the Initial Golden Tree, rather than the Forge of Life itself.

In short, despite using Lann's "Spiritual Vision" to observe and Mentos to summarize and calculate the results, progress was still very slow.

Lan En's understanding of the Forge of Life is still at a relatively rudimentary stage.

But this can't be rushed, since the Forge Knight is already imprisoned. He can come and observe whenever he has free time.

Furthermore, other Forge Knights may appear on future battlefields, and these different Forge Knights may bring the Witcher a new understanding of the power of the Forge of Life.

This actually gave Lan En a sense of anticipation for future opponents.

After silently 'watching' the Forge Knight outside the cell for nearly two hours, the Witcher naturally walked away, while the Forge Knight remained completely still throughout.

It was as if they had both gotten used to this way of interacting.

After emerging from the underground prison, Lann returned the keychain to the jailer and left the gloomy and damp place, returning to the Round Table Hall to rest.

However, the promised rest actually didn't last very long.
-

Sir Hundred Wisdoms had agreed to a one-month buffer period with the two demigods outside the city. However, just after the third day, and with another batch of Griffia's Nymgford army arriving... his plans were completely ignored.

"Toot! Close the city gates!" Soldiers shouted after blowing their horns through the gates of the outer city wall of Rodel. "We can't worry about that now! Anyone still trying to escape, close the gates now!" Outside the gates, a rumbling sound like an earthquake echoed across the golden earth.

The sound was rhythmic and chilling, indicating that it was not geological movement, but the footsteps of an army!
The two tree guards, just as the lookout soldier sounded the horn, each pulled one of the huge, heavy city gates together with a thunderous roar.

Inside and outside the city gates, the residents of Rodel who hadn't yet managed to leave the city could only watch the gates close, their faces ashen.

Otherwise, one could only stand outside in terror, feeling the chilling footsteps of the army approaching ever closer.

The tree guardian showed no further concern; when it said to close the gate, it closed it.

It was already night, and a torch was seen moving about on the city wall of Rodel.

Then, wherever the torch on the city wall passed, a row of lights suddenly appeared.

Those were the Rodel soldiers who had been stationed on the city walls since the day the two demigods were stationed outside.

And it wasn't just outside the city walls; inside the city walls themselves, a series of hurried and chaotic footsteps could be heard.

More Rhodes knights and sergeants, waiting for their turn, were rushing to their battle positions.

"Breaking the agreement, launching a war without declaration?" Amidst the bustling and busy crowd, complaints and shouts could be heard from time to time. "Is this what you call a golden demigod?!"

"It was agreed that it would last for a month!"

"You believe what they say?" someone joked in the tense atmosphere. "Are you a child who's only lived for a few hundred years? Did you fight all that war for nothing?"

But some people calmly and seriously said, "Three days ago, the war ash that Grek unleashed sent pieces of land flying higher than the city walls! It's possible that the garrison outside saw it."

“Greek is, after all, Griffia’s son, so it’s not surprising that he could recognize his son’s power.”

"Perhaps he sees the battle his son Grek fought in the city three days ago as a signal that we're determined to go to war. The remaining three days are just for waiting for his army to come and reinforce us!"

This reasonable explanation has been accepted by many people.

But that's about it.

Since war has already begun, speculating about its causes is merely a way to give oneself psychological closure. It has no impact on the real material world.

Night fell over the Altai Plateau.

But at such times, the canopy of the golden tree that covers the sky will turn downwards, casting a soft golden light across the earth.

The plants and turf on the Yatan Plateau that are also radiated with golden color by the power of the golden tree reflect this light, ensuring good visibility of light on the Yatan Plateau at night.

But now... the night is dark and gloomy.

Dark clouds, like volcanic ash, spread out from the military formations arrayed outside the city.

Like ink spreading in clear water, the power of the demigod was released and began to change the celestial phenomena.

Laqad and Gavya were stationed in the army formation.

Ningmgefu truly deserves its reputation as a vast land that has also been nurtured and rejuvenated for over two hundred years.

At present, apart from the personal guard that Rodel brought with him who rushed to the scene, Ge Fuya has only taken over a batch of reinforcements that came later, but in terms of the general number of troops, it is already equal to the army of the Volcano Mansion!
The black uniforms with red trim worn by the soldiers of the Volcano Mansion.

The army of Nymgf wore red and green bi-colored, cylindrical cloaks, half depicting golden trees and half depicting human-lion figures. This signified the army's loyalty to the Golden Tree and their membership in the Golden Clan.

The spears and swords stood upright like a forest, reflecting the cold gleam of metal under the thick, volcanic ash-like clouds.

The knights and soldiers, and even the trolls who appeared amidst the thunderous, heavy footsteps, bypassed the two demigods like water parted by reefs, steadily and powerfully marching towards Rodel's impregnable walls.

Laqad's power and influence are now spreading across the land.

In contrast, Gavrilo, with his bulky and strange body beneath his wide cloak, appeared utterly devoid of any leader's demeanor or imposing presence.

In this world of gods, power is style, power is aura!
Ultimately, it's simply because Gavrilo was far weaker than Lakad.

But at this moment, Lakad was only willing to release his power and influence, while he himself was half a body length behind Geffia.

This demonstrates who the absolute leader and initiator of this campaign against the capital of the Golden Dynasty was.

—I, Raccard, am just here to provide support and show some support. This war, in the end, is still a civil war within your Golden Clan over the succession order!
Anyone with eyes could see that Laqad was using Gavrilo as a target to draw fire, pushing him to the front.

Of course, this includes those with discerning eyes, such as Grafia himself.

(End of this chapter)