Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1973 1945. Battlefield Observer

"Won't you shake hands, Lord Mare?" After packing his things, Lann extended his hand to the awkward Mare Mare with a hint of teasing and amusement. "Although we haven't known each other for very long, this is still a farewell."

At this time, the city of Sunshade was overcrowded with people.

The original population of the city is now concentrated in the middle and upper levels of the castle.

Their eyes gleamed with curiosity, shock, and fear. The group of people stood in a dense circle along the wall overlooking the lower levels of the castle, like frightened quails.

The middle section of the city wall was packed with people. Those at the back couldn't squeeze through, so they simply went up to the upper section and peered down from the wall.

The atmosphere among the onlookers was lively, but they only whispered among themselves and dared not make a sound.

Even his eyes darted around, looking down while clearly afraid of making eye contact with anyone in the lower courtyard of the castle.

The people in Sunshade City were usually silent, but the entire castle remained noisy and chaotic.

Because a large number of the Holy Tree Legion had already poured in through the port passage of Sunshade City.

They began packing their belongings, leading horses and donkeys out of the stables in Sunshade, saddled them, and attached them to the wagon bed.

And even now, the Holy Tree Legion is still being continuously transported up the cliff behind Sunshade City.

Standing on the northern city wall of Sunshade City and looking down, one can see a large fleet docking with the port of the Mare family in turn, sending people ashore on the sea, which is shrouded in a gray fog.

The Holy Tree Legion's military system, training content, and equipment were also heavily influenced by the Knights of Rodel.

The soldiers of the Holy Tree Legion were equipped with almost the same gear as the soldiers in Rodel City, except that they had a unique gold decorative band on their cauldron-shaped helmets.

The other weapons, shields, and armor also bear traces of this unique gold.

That was pure gold formed from the power of Michaela.

It is said that wearing this pure gold can strengthen one's mind and make one's faith more steadfast.

However, even as the soldiers of the Sacred Tree Legion were busy moving supplies, relocating pack animals, and bustling about in the courtyard of Sunshade City, they naturally avoided the group of people occupying the very center of the courtyard.

The demigod Marlene, and her royal guard of knights, the Knights of Corruption.

Marlenia has suffered from the putrefaction disease since birth, and one of the main reasons why the dangerous power of Crimson Putrefaction is notorious in the Borderlands is because of its contagious nature.

According to Miss Melina from Lane's 'Encyclopedia of the Borderlands', Crimson Corruption is a force that, in bygone eras, dominated the process of life's decay and rebirth.

The symptoms are similar to fungal erosion of corpses and insects and flies dissolving corpses.

When the crimson decay occurs, the spreading red mist actually resembles the spread of fungal spores.

Since the outward manifestation of power is fungi and insects, then scarlet putrefaction certainly has a strong ability to spread.

The Valkyrie herself, as a god-human born with the Corruption Disease and burdened with the Crimson Corruption Law, is a super source of infection.

Even though her brother Michaela suppressed the Crimson Corruption, the power of the Crimson Corruption would still spread if she spent enough time with her.

As her personal guard of knights, the Corrupt Knights were unsurprisingly all afflicted with the Corrupt Disease.

Now, this group of people stood in the center of the courtyard of Sunshade City. Just by standing there, wisps of red mist emanated from their bodies, drifting out from the gaps in their armor and the breathing holes in their helmets.

When they gather together, they actually look like a large patch of red mist!

But this fog is anything but hazy and beautiful; on the contrary, it makes everyone who recognizes it instinctively keep their distance.

The performance of the others did not shake the resolve of the Dignified Knights.

Marlenia stood quietly at the front, facing the gates of Sunshade City, her winged helmet concealing a silent gaze, lost in thought.

Behind her was Fenre, who had previously joined her and, through their own strength, had forced their way onto the Asian Plateau without going through the port passage of the Mare family.

Then came the solemn and unmoving Knights of the Corruption Order.

The Order of the Corrupted Knights—as the name suggests, these knights are all similar to Marley Marley.

They were drawn to Malenia's tragic yet unwavering life, regarding it as a faith, and even knowing they would be corrupted by the crimson decay, they still chose to become her knights-in-arms.

And indeed, just as they suspected, all members of this knightly order eventually became infected with the putrefaction disease.

The slender figure is not only due to the need to maintain a high-speed and sharp fighting style, but also because the cause and effect are reversed.

It was the torment of the putrid disease that made their bodies so thin, forcing them to adopt a light and fast fighting style.

From the day they joined the Knights Order, the Knights of the Corruption Order had essentially set a visible death date for themselves.

They weren't demigods bestowed by the Golden Dynasty, nor were they gods burdened by laws; they couldn't endure like Marleneja. Therefore, the fighting style of any Knight of Corruption on the battlefield was always extremely heroic.

This has only increased the respect that countless people have for the Knights of the Fallen.

Currently, Valkyrie Marlenia has led the Sacred Tree Legion to officially land on the Asia Altar Plateau, arriving at the center of this chaotic yet undeniably central stage of the border region.

Lan En had already mounted his horse, while Rongbuqiu was diligently tidying up the horse bag, sleeping bag, and other items on the Qilin's rump.

The Witcher reached his hand downwards, a gesture that momentarily stunned Marley Marley, who was standing next to the Kirin.

The noble patriarch, wearing an iron mask, looked up along the direction of the arm and saw Lan En's teasing yet innocent smile as he bent down.

After hesitating for a long time, Mare Mare finally reached out his hand, only to have it grabbed by Lann and shaken up and down.

"In any case, judging from the way my people look at you from above," the Lord of Sunshade said from behind his iron mask, "you are a knight worthy of respect, Lord Lann. Even if we have different beliefs, I am willing to say so."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Who would believe that someone like you, who has only been here for a little over a week, could gain such widespread recognition in Sunshade City? I just hope that you haven't been deceiving Lady Marlenia."

"Thank you for the compliment, but how could I dare?" The Witcher's teasing tone made it impossible to tell whether he was serious or joking. "I only took one hit from her earlier. If I were to become the Valkyrie's opponent, that would be terrifying."

"Moreover, as a prerequisite for persuading her, I will stay by her side until she sees the evidence with her own eyes and understands the truth of the night of the Black Knife conspiracy."

As he spoke, Lan En smiled and touched his neck with his palm.

"If I lie to her, my head might fly off in the next second."

"Not to mention, maintaining her position as a third-party battlefield observer."

This was the suggestion Lann made to Marlene, and it was also the basic principle of his previous diplomatic strategy towards the Holy Tree Legion.

Diplomacy is the art of mutual coordination, negotiation, and compromise.

However, it is also important to ensure that the core benchmarks are not overturned during this process.

Lan En's core principle regarding the Holy Tree Legion's landing on the Yatan Plateau was simple: the Holy Tree Legion could not become part of the demigod alliance and strengthen the forces besieging Rodel.

This objective could be achieved, as Sir Hundred Wisdom had arranged, by simply slaughtering Sunshade City and House Mare, and destroying the port access, thus significantly delaying the arrival of the Holy Tree Legion.

According to Sir Baizhi's calculations, if they do it this way, the battle of Rodel will basically be over, and they won't have a chance to see the Holy Tree's legion.

Alternatively, as arranged by the master of [Ironthorn] Elommel, they could not prevent the Holy Tree Legion from landing at all, but instead use the Holy Tree Legion and Marlenia as new factors that could disrupt the situation.

However, Lann had neither the cold, rational plan of Sir Hundred-Mindedness nor the desire to stand with a sadistic maniac like Elon Mel.

He chose another option and, in the previous conversation, used his social and conversational skills to reach a preliminary agreement with Malenia.

—The Holy Tree Legion's arrival at the Altar Plateau doesn't necessarily mean they have to choose sides and join the meat grinder beneath the walls of Rodel.

They could easily exist as a third-party observer faction on the battlefield.

After all, according to Marlenia herself, the main reason they initially headed towards Rodel on their journey from the Sacred Tree was the assassination of [Gold] Godwin.

That's why they immediately set off for the Asian Plateau.

After all, [Gold] Godwin is undoubtedly the most ideal successor to the Golden Dynasty, and there is no one else who can replace him.

This concerns the succession of the throne, and on a larger scale, it concerns the change of laws and the era!

When something happens to him, any influential person or force in the world will immediately be on edge and try their best to understand what happens after his death.

Another account suggests that Prince Godwin had a good relationship with the Tree Twins, who had left Rodel. Perhaps this was because the Tree Twins were their mother's youngest children.

In short, Godwin took special care of them.

From a purely personal emotional perspective, with Godwin assassinated, the Twin Trees should certainly come and find out the truth behind the events.

Furthermore, at a deeper level, Godwin's care for the twins of the sacred tree can be seen as part of the cause of his death.

There are only three demigods: Lani, the Moon Princess; Michaela, the Twins of the Sacred Tree; and Malenia.

Marlene, in particular, harbors a strong aversion to the Scarlet Corruption Law she bears and wholeheartedly supports her brother Michaela.

Therefore, the main conflict in this generation of gods is between Lani and Michaela.

Godwin is close to Michaela and has barely met Lani, a demigod from a powerful family, so there's no way he would choose her.

(End of this chapter)