Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1980 (1952) The Flame Goes Mad
The mountain trolls from Nymgfu were making a rumbling sound as they moved large goods and pushed and pulled wagons.

But when Malenia walked past their calves without looking at them, these giants' close relatives still seemed terrified.

They quickly retreated several steps with a rumble, some even losing their footing and falling backward on the spot, but even as they scrambled to walk, they still managed to pull their bodies as far away as possible.

In the ensuing chaos and panic, the mountain demon crushed and tore down many of the tents.

The knights sternly shouted at the trolls, and their whips and warhammers fell repeatedly on them, finally suppressing the commotion caused by these large men.

Although the root cause was the panic caused by Malenia, no one dared to vent their dissatisfaction or complaints against this demigod.

Demigods possess their own dignity, which stems from power and strength.

Apart from Grek, who is being raised in the royal city of Rhodel as a de facto hostage, there is currently no one who dares to shout at the demigods.

The knights and soldiers whose tents had been crushed could only speak with a slightly sarcastic tone when whipping the mountain demons.

Marlenia walked on without flinching, her gaze fixed straight ahead, her pace unchanged.

He seemed completely unconcerned about the reactions of the knights and warriors in these camps.

But only she knew in her heart that the scenes before her eyes were reminding her of her past experiences.

My childhood memories of living with my brother in Rodel City...

"Get closer to the fire, even closer." Among the knights who watched Marlenia leave, one sat by the fire, muttering under his helmet, "Listen to me, you fools! Get closer to the fire! The leaping flames can purify corruption."

"That's Valkyrie Malenia! A demigod born with the putrefaction disease! The crimson putrefaction on her body is so severe that no one in this world can cure it! Tsk, just watching her walk past me makes me feel uneasy. Fire! Add more fire!"

Judging from the cylindrical tunic covering his armor, this man is a knight of Mount Gemir.

The soldiers and officers sitting with him around the same campfire quickly obeyed his orders, rubbing their buttocks against the grass as they sat closer, throwing in two more pieces of firewood, and blowing air into the bottom of the campfire with their tubes.

The campfire suddenly leaped up a small section, burning two of the ember butterflies that were circling and flying around the flames to death.

“Another case of corruption,” said one of the knights and soldiers sitting around the campfire, watching Marlenia enter the camp with cold eyes. “Isn’t this place chaotic enough already?”

If you look closely, you can see in the eyes of these people under their helmets that, besides rejection, there is also restless anxiety and some... fear.

"Has someone gone mad again?" The knight by the campfire wore a red and green cloak embroidered with lions, standard issue under Gevya's command. "When did this happen?"

This knight seemed to enjoy listening to gossip; even in his fine but inconvenient gear, he kept tilting his head towards the soldiers beside him, inquiring about what was going on.

"Two more went mad this afternoon!" At this point, soldiers could disregard rank and whispered to their knight commander, "Just like before, they looked completely healed, then suddenly drew their swords and attacked, shouting 'Blood! Show your wounds! Let the blood flow!'"

"Heh." A cold laugh came from beneath the knight's helmet. "'Looks completely healed,' so you went to the military doctor at Mount Gemir again, and then went crazy after coming back?"

"How interesting. They clearly decided to attack Rodel together and reclaim the rightful throne of the Golden Clan. But they haven't even broken through the outer walls, and Mount Gemir has already started bleeding us dry? Where do the people at the volcano's residence get their confidence?"

"Clang, clang," Knight Ningmgford lightly tapped his helmet twice with his fingers, his cold laugh unchanged beneath the helmet. "Look, I don't even dare to take off my helmet easily in our own camp. Can you call this our military camp?"

As he spoke, he turned his head to the other side, to the Gemir Volcano Knights dressed in black robes with red trim.

The helmets concealed their expressions, and no one could hear their internal murmurs. But the knight of Mount Gemir, whom he was looking at, also turned his head. The two knights appeared to have no conflict, yet they faced each other with unwavering resolve.

And around the other campfires, there were many similar whispers.

No one dared to shout at a demigod, even if the demigod had been born with an extremely virulent infectious disease.

Not only did they dare not shout, but they also tried to keep their whispers as low as possible.

So much so that, despite the large number of people, the whispers sounded like flies buzzing, but no one could make out what they were saying.

Therefore, it is impossible to pinpoint the specific person or what they specifically said, and to arrest and punish them.

Marlenia's lower face, not covered by the winged helmet, remained as cool and calm as ever.

She went straight out of the curtain and into the large tent in the very center of the camp.

Upon entering, the enormous and twisted figure of Gavya was already waiting there. Even Lakad, who was not particularly famous for his appearance, appeared majestic and imposing next to him.

Three demigods gathered in a large tent; given their relationship, they should have been considered family.

But at this moment, Griffith and Lacard only offered smiles that were at best warm and polite. Marlenia herself remained expressionless. Power, influence… distorted by these things, what room was there left for family relationships?

“Welcome!” Griffia opened her mouth, but Lakad spoke first, emphasizing again, “Welcome, my sister! Welcome to the righteous and just demigod alliance!”

The chief justice smiled warmly and poured three glasses of wine from the wine cabinet.

He pushed one of the cups toward Marlenia, and then carried the other two, one in each hand, to Goughia.

An ordinary person might think that this was because there were three people present, and unlike Ge Fuya, he had not used arthropod techniques and only had two hands, so he couldn't take care of everyone.

But Marlenia, who had suffered from necrosis since childhood, knew very well that he was simply avoiding contact with me.

Is this what he meant by 'my sister'?
Thinking of this, a barely perceptible mocking smile appeared on Marlenia's lips, which were not hidden by her helmet.

She thought of a man she had recently parted ways with, a faded figure who was supposedly on the opposing side.

Even the one who faded away didn't care about the sense of distance when interacting with others in a friendly atmosphere.

And this demigod in front of me claims to be my 'brother'?

Marlene only has one brother!
However, Marlenia still picked up the wine glass that Lacard had pushed towards her, and even steadied it against the wine cabinet.

She knew that after she left, Laqad would probably replace the entire main tent.

“I am not here to join your alliance, Laqad, Gavya.”

She went straight to the point, even addressing the two demigods by their names.

As a result, the previously lively atmosphere suddenly became tense.

“I… don’t quite understand, Malenia.” Griffia’s original two hands rested on his royal axe, and he held the wine cup that Lakad handed him with his splinted hand. “If it weren’t for upholding the Golden Righteous Path, why would you appear on the Altan Plateau at this time? And with the Holy Tree Legion?”

"The most important thing at the border right now is to overthrow the Blessed King who has usurped the throne in Roderly," Lakad added solemnly. "Only then can we enter the Golden Tree, meet with the imprisoned Queen Marika, and find a way to repair the Ring of Law and restore peace to the world, my sister."

"Isn't this what you came here for? My brother Michaela, aren't you also concerned about the well-being of all beings?"

Beside him, Gougher's face was ashen.

Does a relative of the mother-in-law who keeps talking about her younger brother and sister really think she's part of the elite?
"I came here initially because of the changes in Prince Godwin's life."

Marlene's winged helmet makes it difficult to discern her emotional changes, which is an advantage in this situation.

“Then they should join us even more!” Laccad raised his glass in a toast. “If we’re talking about who got the biggest slice of the pie from the prince’s misfortune, it’s undoubtedly the usurper now on Rodel’s throne! Whoever benefits is the most suspicious! He was pushed up there by the Two Fingers, and if you ask me, the Two Fingers of the Round Table might already want…”

The first half was fine, but when Lacard started talking about the second half, Marlenia raised her prosthetic arm and made a gesture to stop him.

"Although I have renounced my own laws, I am still a god."

These words were spoken softly, yet they successfully made the Chief Justice sip his wine and stop continuing his previous statement.

The two fingers hold a position even higher than the gods, although conflict is common between the two fingers that support different laws.

However, there has never been a border region before, like Laqad, that subtly hinted at Two Fingers' desire to usurp the dynasty and directly control it.

He dared to say this, but the other two people in the main tent were inclined not to want to hear it.

Has this chief justice lost his mind?
The battle is still ongoing and there's no result yet, and you're already trying to provoke people everywhere?

Setting down her wine glass, Marlenia reiterated her stance and the position of the Holy Tree Legion.

She recalled the key points of her previous conversation with Lan En.

“I rushed back to the Yatan Plateau because of Prince Godwin’s situation, and that’s all I care about right now. As for the subsequent ascension of the Blessed King, even if it’s an overstepping of his authority, I want to try to communicate with him first.”

“The events of the Night of the Black Knife need to be investigated, and the throne needs to be negotiated, but you have already surrounded the royal city…” Marlenia’s tone revealed a hint of displeasure, as if she had been delayed, but then she quickly suppressed her emotions with a cool demeanor.

"It doesn't matter. I can watch you fight for hundreds of years. After you're done fighting, I'll go investigate and talk to you."

Having said that, without paying any attention to the expressions of the two demigods, Marlenia placed the wine glass back on the wine cabinet and turned to leave.

(End of this chapter)