Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1964, 1936. Melina's Initiative
'What do you think was the purpose of letting you unleash your power so many times without any hindrance?'

The unobstructed "Eagle Eye Vision" allowed Lan to clearly see what was happening behind him, but his own eyes never left Elon Mel.

Those amber cat eyes clearly conveyed the Witcher's meaning.

They didn't mock them; in fact, they were genuinely curious.

I'm curious that Elon Meir hasn't felt anything at all.

Even before he made a move, Lan En easily detected the signs that preceded his attack.

A perfectly good initial clash was completely thwarted before it even began, as the Witcher, with lightning-fast precision, charged in and suppressed the enemy.

Is this a coincidence?

Or was it that his movements, body habits, and subtle shifts in his center of gravity were all seen through from the very beginning?
If one is a cautious and powerful warrior, then such a perilous possibility, though chilling, is something that must be considered.

Elonmer himself is not weak.

However, under the relentless and relentless onslaught of Lann, he had no time to think about that aspect and could only struggle to deal with the Witcher's attacks that came at his fatal moments.

Therefore, he would overlook an obvious fact: since Lan En has already demonstrated his keen eyesight and execution ability to stop him at crucial moments several times... why is he still able to release his deep red power smoothly every time?

Now, Elonmeier realizes it.

But it was too late!

"Stab!"

The longsword in Lann's hand appeared to be empty, but when the Witcher and [Ironthorn] looked at each other through the sword, Elonmer could see it clearly.

This long sword, so beautiful it resembled a work of art, was shimmering with a faint, almost illusory light.

The light was faint, like a reflection that had been scattered again, yet it was as white and pure as a distant morning star.

On the long sword, illuminated by the white light, countless fine, thread-like marks appeared, resembling charred ends of thread, continuously emitting sounds of being roasted and burned.

The dense lines seemed to have no beginning or end in mid-air, except for this small section on the surface of Aarondette's blade, which appeared to be visible due to the white light emanating from the blade.

These fine lines appeared briefly on the Lake Maiden's Sword!
Next!

The long sword, which seemed to have been inexplicably wrapped with many lines from the void, was suddenly pulled downwards by Lan En!
The sizzling sound of roasting suddenly increased in volume!
The fine threads on the Lake Maiden's sword were first cut, then burned away!

Suddenly, those sharp objects and swords floating in mid-air behind Lan En flew towards the crowd.

It's like suddenly losing the momentum to move forward and the control to steer.

It crashed into itself in mid-air with a loud bang, then shattered into pieces and fell onto the floor tiles.

'He...cut my...how is that possible?!'

In that split second, only that voice echoed in Elonmer's mind.

However, Lann's downward movement of the longsword also allowed the Marai execution sword, which had been knocked away earlier, to smoothly arrive near Elonmel's palm.

A deep red light flashed once more, seeping from [Iron Thorn]'s palm onto the execution sword.

Immediately afterward, Elon Mel swung his bare hand forward! The Marai executioner's sword spun again and thrust towards Lann, who was right in front of him!

But the Witcher was no longer dodging or avoiding.

He merely raised the longsword he had just drawn, and the slender Aarondette stood before the broad executioner's blade.

"Dang Dang Dang!"

A series of metallic clanging sounds rang out!

For Lan En, who had already seen through the opponent's strength through just a few encounters and observations, adjusting his techniques in real time during the battle was simply a normal coping strategy.

It combines the parrying techniques of the Ashina style, "Rising Carp," and the katana technique "Reverse Wave" from the magical Sengoku period of Japan.

He made a slight adjustment at that moment.

So even though Elonmer's body and the Mare's execution sword didn't actually make any physical contact, the Witcher still managed to transfer the recoil from the exquisite parry to Elonmer through the power Elonmer used to control the execution sword, and began to disrupt Elonmer's body.

The execution sword of the Mare family was spinning too fast.

This makes Lann's blocking even more effortless.

A series of intense sparks exploded so violently that they were almost blinding!

However, the sudden explosion also ended abruptly.

After countless collisions, Elonmer, who was reaching forward and controlling the Marais execution sword, hadn't even had time to react.

His body had completely lost the posture he should have had in combat.

The muscles all over his body were loose and flabby, with no room to be mobilized to exert their strength.

The center of gravity is off, and it can't even move.

Without Lann even having to do anything, the Marei family execution sword, which had been spinning in mid-air and glowing with red power, fell to the ground on its own. "Clang!"

"Pfft!"

The execution sword fell to the ground, followed immediately by the crisp sound of the blade piercing flesh!

Arondette's blade pierced through Elonmer's exotic armor, striking the man directly in the heart.

"Actually, I'm not the kind of person who can't tolerate injustice, and I can't wait a moment to start doing something I don't like."

Everything fell silent abruptly; the strife and fighting ceased. Lann's hand remained firmly on the hilt of his sword as he spoke softly to the frozen Elonmel.

"However, the premise for me to cooperate with others despite my disgust is that this matter is really urgent and difficult, and it cannot be done without cooperation. So, as a rational person, and not to the point of being a person with a mental fastidiousness, I can certainly cooperate."

“But now, here and now, regarding what’s happening in Sunshade City, I don’t think it’s enough for me to tolerate you, Elonmer.”

After saying that, the Witcher immediately twisted the blade and slashed horizontally!

With a 'sizzle', the blade that had already pierced Elonmel's chest began to bleed profusely due to the twisting of the blade inside his body.

Then, a huge gash was ripped open from his chest, connecting to Elonmer's left armpit!
This slit was not only frighteningly long, but it was also completely open from front to back! It practically ripped Elonmer's upper body in half!
Immediately! Elonmer, who was already pinned against the wall by Lann, suddenly gushed out a large amount of blood from his body.

The blood followed the path of the huge gap, leaving a large splatter-like spray mark on the Sunshade City Wall behind him.

While the blood loss wouldn't kill him in today's world, it still left Elonmer instantly so weak that he couldn't speak, and even the movement of his lips ceased.

The foreign knight, feared by the people and known as "Iron Thorn," slid off the wall with his armor with a thud and collapsed to the ground.

His legs, slumped on the ground, were pressed against the executioner's sword of the Ma family, which had landed first, making a scraping sound on the floor tiles.

Having lost his ability to move, everything about him was no longer concealed.

Many small beads slid off his body, and those beads had marks like fingerprints.

This is the [Bell Bead], a storage tool commonly used by the people of the borderlands. It was also one of the most frequently acquired spoils and souvenirs by Elonmer.

One of them, a blood-red one, stood out conspicuously.

"[Cursed Blood]! [Cursed Blood]!!!"

Of the perfumers who had fallen to the lower levels of Sunshade City after their walkways were dismantled by the velvet balls, a few were still able to speak.

That voice, as mournful as an owl and as persistent as an addict's, continued to echo up from below the castle.

This also reminded Lann that the bead should contain the cursed blood that Elon Mel mentioned when negotiating with the perfumers of Sunshade City.

Pure crimson flames, and Elon Mel's crimson power... In this world where the color and emblem of power can represent attributes and positions, could there be any connection?
As Lan En pondered this, he kicked the Marei family's execution sword on the ground with his toe.

"Ohe, a foreign land, is a place where reclusive cultivators gather. The people there usually cultivate and use a power called [Qi]."

Just as Lan En was fiddling with the Mare family's execution sword, a calm and indifferent female voice came from behind him.

Turning her head, the blue light spots on Melina's body, which had transformed from spirits into physical forms, disappeared completely.

"【Qi】can strengthen the body and also exert force on objects, therefore Ohr's sword can move freely in the air."

Just as Lann and Melina had agreed, the girl with light reddish-brown hair gracefully arrived to answer the witcher's questions.

This time, however, Melina seemed to be taking the initiative. Even though Lan En was thinking of asking her later, she came out on her own.

"【gas】?"

Lan En was a little curious because of this title.

After all, the title carried a familiar connotation to him, but it felt rather out of place in this Western setting.

However, Lan En didn't dwell on it too much, after all, he had even been to the magical world of Sengoku Japan before. And frankly, that place didn't have any real Chinese cultural sphere.

So after learning the name of Elon Mel's crimson power, Lan En took the opportunity to ask Melina about the blood-red bell on the ground.

"I heard them say that this contains [cursed blood]. Do you recognize this thing..."

As he spoke, Lan En bent down to pick up the blood-red bell so he could show it to Melina.

But before he could even touch the bell, Melina, who was standing behind him, took two steps forward.

He unfurled his cloak, crouched down, and picked up the crimson bell himself before Lan En could even touch it.

Furthermore, Melina's expression remained consistently calm and indifferent, as if the action had occurred naturally to her.

After picking up the bell, Melina showed no intention of handing it to Lan En.

Instead, he took it himself and explained it to Lan En.

"The so-called 'cursed blood' comes from the power of an 'outer deity,' the 'Mother of Truth.'"

(End of this chapter)