Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1985, 1957: Prayer in the Black Flame
After emerging from the deepest room in the Round Table Hall, Lann received the prayers about the [Initial Golden Tree] that Twofinger had promised him.

Although even the two-finger collection is incomplete, this ancient prayer itself has extraordinary value.

Among them, Lan En also saw a prayer he had once observed, called "Grace and Blessing".

This was the massive prayer that suddenly covered the entire city at the end of the ceremony when [Gold] Godwin and Grek joined hands to welcome the tribute procession from Nymgford on the main road of Rodel.

At that moment, the entire Rodel was enveloped in a sacred and vibrant golden light under this spell. Even the fallen leaves of the golden trees shone brighter than usual, like a dreamlike golden meteor shower.

However, after Lan En saw the written version of the prayer on parchment, he realized that this prayer was just a relatively basic one among the prayers concerning the [First Golden Tree].

If the power is released normally and can cover a radius of ten to twenty meters around the user, then it is considered to be of considerable strength.

The power of prayer is slow but continuous, replenishing the prayer user with a great deal of vitality, as well as individuals within the user's sphere of influence whom the user considers to be on their side.

However, the time Godwin released it, it directly covered the entire inner city of Rodel!
[Gold] In the ancient dragon battle, the prince single-handedly defended the inner city of Rodel against an attack by at least three ancient dragons... His own strength was indeed enough to kill and subdue multiple ancient dragons.

While prayers from the era of the First Golden Tree are highly valuable, as Twofinger said, there are no prayers here concerning the Forge Elephants.

Lan En had no choice but to continue to wear down and whittle down the Furnace Knights who were imprisoned in the cell.

"Fluffy Ball," Lan En called out as he stepped outside.

The fluffy ball, carrying a long gun on its shoulder, came bouncing over like a little ball of fluff.

"Here I am, boss! Ah, Ah Qiu!"

The kitten sniffed, and Lan En looked it over. He discovered it was the skull impaled on the spearhead. The layer of ice that had been frozen due to the spirit fire was beginning to extend from the spearhead down the shaft.

The low temperature of the spirit fire seemed quite intense; just standing next to it made one feel a bit of goosebumps.

"Don't carry it. I think we can take this thing to the kitchen."

Lan En explained to the velvet ball how the spirit fire could be sustained using bones as fuel.

Although there is a war going on, due to the special nature of the Golden Tree People, there are hardly any corpses to be seen on the battlefield. At most, there are some unrecovered severed limbs, which have been burned by the Dead Bird.

However, in the kitchen, there are still some large animal bones and such when cooking and preparing food.

Each meal can replenish the spiritual fire.

Lan En himself didn't need this spirit fire to burn very brightly.

He simply needed to use his [Spiritual Vision] to observe and understand the inner power of this spiritual fire, and then imitate and transform it using his own magical fire.

The quality of the observed samples is fine, so it's okay if they're a little small.

The velvet ball ran to the kitchen in the round table hall and discussed with the servants there how to build a small stove specifically for burning the spirit fire.

Meanwhile, Lann happened to be in the Round Table Hall when he met Baglem, who was recovering from his injuries.

"Whoa." Walking down the corridor, past Baglem's room, Lan En's nose itched from a strong scent of face powder, so he peeked into the room from which the smell was coming. "Bagram, you seem to be badly injured."

Baglem's room was simple, even spacious. His famous White Wolf War Demon armor hung on a display shelf in the room.

The Greatsword of the Hunting Gods, which once belonged to the Queen of Night-Colored Eyes, leaned against the corner of the wall.

Clearly, this faded person has a simple and capable style.

At this very moment, however, two perfumers were standing by the window in Baglime, the perfume powder in their hands scattering as they breathed it out.

The shimmering scented powder enveloped the bed in the room and seemed to linger for a long time.

Even Baglem, lying in bed, could only be barely discerned from the shimmering powder.

The White Wolf War Demon lay on the bed, and you could hear him trying to increase his breathing.

This is him ingesting fragrance powder while cooperating with the perfumer's treatment.

"Oh, is that Lan En?" It wasn't very clear from the outside that Baglam was on the bed. He was also covered in perfume powder, so he could only recognize people by their voices. "Have you finished your business?"

"It was a satisfactory result."

Lann simply walked in and leaned against the wall next to the door. He then relaxed and watched the perfumers treat Bagram.

"Your injury requires so much effort? The red dewdrop chalice over there by the velvet ball hasn't been touched yet, do you want a sip?"

“I also have a Red Dewdrop Grail, but it’s not suitable now,” Baglem said, taking a deep breath. “In Nymgford’s army, there’s a knight from the lost home who must have performed many dragon-feeding rituals.” “He probably ate the heart of a poisonous dragon and can now breathe dragon breath. If it were just an injury, my own Grail would be enough. But I’m poisoned, and they’re here to help me detoxify.”

"Then I guess that the lost knight who performed the dragon sacrifice ritual with the heart of a poisonous dragon probably didn't fare well either?" The Witcher examined the Faded One in the cloud of incense smoke. "After all, you sound quite pleased with yourself."

“Indeed.” Bagram waved his hand. “My greatsword tore half of his body apart, and black flames burned his internal organs.”

"By the way, is there something you need from me?"

Baglem asked the question, and at the same time, the two perfumers gradually put away their powder bags, and after sprinkling the remaining powder on their hands, they stopped taking out any more.

Without further replenishment, the cloud of incense smoke enveloping Baglim gradually thinned as he absorbed it.

The two perfumers finished their treatment for the day, bowed, and left Baglem's room.

Lan En, who was leaning against the wall, waited until the two perfumers had completely left the room before speaking again.

"No, I was just passing by when I came in, and I was just curious about the scent of the perfume."

Lann first shook his head, but then looked at Baglem, who was sitting up straight on the bed.

“However, since you just mentioned the [Black Flame] on your greatsword, I do have an idea.”

To better allow his body to absorb the fragrance powder, Baglam was only wearing shorts.

As he sat up in bed, the numerous and varied scars covering his body became visible.

As a renowned hero and veteran who has fought his way through the Titan Wars to the present day, the scars on his body are a testament to his distinguished service.

Even though he was physically strong, a pale green hue could still be faintly seen beneath his skin. That was probably a sign that he had been poisoned by the dragon's venom.

"Tell me."

Baglem stood up and walked towards the armor display. For someone like him, who had lost count of how long he had been a warrior, armor was like a second skin. He felt extremely awkward without it.

"How many days of treatment do you need for this poison?" Lan En didn't answer, but asked again.

“Three or four days,” the White Wolf War Demon said, skillfully putting on his armor. “My shifts are being handled by Viherer right now. The perfumers say it will take five or six days to completely remove the toxins, but I want it to be faster. Viherer is more of a scholar than a warrior.”

“Three or four days,” Lan En said, pinching his chin between his thumb and forefinger, pondering for a moment. “Hmm, that should be enough.”

As he spoke, Lann glanced at Bagleym, then turned his gaze to the strangely shaped greatsword that resembled a spiral toilet paper roll that Bagleym was leaning against the corner of the wall.

"In the next three or four days, will you still be able to activate the war ash of that greatsword?"

“Oh,” as soon as Lann spoke, Bagram, who had already put on his helmet, immediately responded with an "I see," “You want to see [Black Flame], or rather… try to make contact with [Black Flame], right?”

Lann nodded noncommittally, while Baglem didn't seem surprised at all.

"You are so outstanding and experienced that I almost forgot you have only been in the Round Table Hall for a short time, Lan En."

As he spoke, he walked to the corner of the wall and took his oddly shaped greatsword in his hand. His tone was tinged with emotion.

“We, the Faded Ones, have been together for far too long, and we’ve lost all curiosity about the powers we wield. But you’re new here, so of course you should be curious. By the way, you should know that, to some extent, we are not actually bound by the Golden Law, right?”

Ordinary people of the Golden Tree probably wouldn't even be able to hear the names of these powers that are related to many [external deities].

Not to mention research.

Anyone who comes into contact with these powers would likely be ostracized by the Golden Dynasty. To attempt research would simply turn them into the kind of reclusive scholar or eccentric old man depicted in stories.

It is intolerable to society.

However, the Faded Ones were directly under the leadership of the Two Fingers, a position that held a transcendent status within the Golden Dynasty.

"I know."

Lann answered Baglem decisively.

In fact, it was only after learning from Melina what "external deities" were that Lan En gained a more accurate understanding of the transcendence of the Faded Ones in the Golden Dynasty.

"That's good." Baglem didn't say much more. "As long as I have time, even if it's just for these three or four days to recover and detoxify, or during any breaks in my duties, you can come to me and take a look at the [Black Flame] in this sword."

"Thank you very much," the Witcher said sincerely. "Consider it a favor I owe you."

(End of this chapter)