Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1992 1964. Opportunity
Since the walls of Rodel stood firm, the most effective way for the demigod coalition forces below to inflict casualties became to target the Rodel defenders who were coming and going on the city walls.

The target is only a line when viewed from below; if you raise your gun slightly, it will fly over the city wall.

Therefore, at present, solid arrows, missiles made of radiant stone magic, lava balls, storm shockwaves... all sorts of things are whistling past the walls of Rodel City.

Looking down from the city wall, the Volcano Knights appeared as a somber, heavy, orderly, and austere mass of dark figures.

The numerous Nymgführer troops, however, wore brightly colored cloaks with red and green panels and gold lion patterns.

However, the crowd was enormous, and even from the high walls of Rodel, the direction of the besieged gate was so vast that the crowd seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see!
Among them were also enormous mountain demons.

Only in the distance of the battlefield, a much smaller camp stood alone.

That was the Holy Tree Legion, which did not participate in the siege.

Even though the Holy Tree Legion had declared beforehand that they would not participate in the siege, they were still stationed outside, and no matter what they said, the pressure they were putting on Rodel was real.

The golden plains of the Yatan Plateau have been encroached upon and ravaged beyond recognition by various military formations and camps.

Even the breeze blowing across the plateau carries the scent of blood and fire.

Looking down from the city wall, the land was divided into several colored blocks.

But these few colored blocks alone are enough to make anyone cautious.

Without sufficient credible information and intelligence, Lann felt that even if Gideon Ophnil and the Blessed King were anxious, they wouldn't easily prepare to launch an attack.

Having lost the advantage of the Rodel Walls, the demigod alliance outside is now a ferocious force.

Even if they are not as good as the Knights of Rodel, how big can that gap be?
As expected, Lann nodded only after Sir Baizhi revealed the source of the information.

"Twofinger and the Blessed King?" the Witcher continued. "What did they say that makes you so confident?"

Lan En could tell at a glance that the preparations made by Sir Bai Zhi were not just to deal with his superior's sudden whim, but rather that he himself believed they were feasible, which was why he put so much effort into them.

This confidence undoubtedly comes from intelligence.

"Even if I managed to persuade Malenia to stay, the enemy still has at least four demigods. They still dare to attack?"

"There are only four in total," Sir Hundred Wisdom waved his hand casually. "What's the point of having a large number if we're not on the battlefield?"

“You can be so sure about that? That’s too risky.” Lann frowned. “Ratan is going to travel all the way from Galid with his army, so he’ll definitely be slow. But what about Lani? She doesn’t have much power under her command, so she can move around easily. Besides, she’s located in Lienia, which is just below the Altan Plateau, so it’s close by.”

Gideon Ofnir looked very confident: "Don't worry about the Moon Princess. Her physical body is dead. Her corpse lies on the Tower of Divine Gift in Lienia."

"The physical body is dead?!" This was the first time Lan En had heard this news, so he was very surprised. "You mean, on the night of the Black Knife Plot, the one who created another death, the one who forcibly separated the complete death from Prince Godwin's body, was Lani herself?"

"What's she after? Is this information even reliable, I'm asking you."

Before hearing this news, Lann had always regarded Lani as a mastermind who orchestrated the Black Knife conspiracy, a demigod or god-like being as cold and hurtful as her power and her laws.

Therefore, he has always been extremely wary of Lani.

After all, this was a ruthless person who could accurately see through the structural weaknesses of a prosperous and thriving divine dynasty and deliver a precise and fatal blow.

Even Lan En felt that facing such a sophisticated schemer would be very dangerous.

But now, she has killed her own physical body?
I've never heard of the magic of the Kalia royal family, or the laws that the [Moon Princess] carries, being powerful enough in her soul state.

Even if her soul is still alive, her demigod strength will be reduced by more than half if her physical body is gone.

If she did this... if she wasn't being schemed against by someone else... then on the night of the Black Knife conspiracy, what she sought was not only to kill Godwin, but also to disrupt the Golden Law and the original order of succession of the Golden Dynasty.
What else does she want to do?
Upon hearing the news, many thoughts flashed through Lan En's mind, but because he knew very little about the Moon Princess and had only met her once, he found it difficult to make a judgment.

“Reliable,” Sir Hundred-Minded answered decisively. “Two-Finger told me that He saw Lani’s body when He connected to the Divine Towers in various places, and that can’t be faked. So there’s no point in talking about her now.”

After saying that, Gideon Ofnir ignored Lani, who had already been deemed no threat, and said no more.

"Without Lani in charge of Lienia, the Kalia royal family will have little to do, and Ratahn will have a difficult time passing through Lienia. But even so, he should be reaching the Altan Plateau soon. We're pressed for time; we need to eliminate the threats as quickly as possible, defeating as many as we can."

“But they still maintain a disciplined military formation,” Lan En said, tilting his head back, “they do have a chance?”

A white arrow, clearly fired from war ash, with an afterimage of the supernatural, grazed the Witcher's forehead, shot into the sky, and fell in a long arc.

They were standing on the edge of the city wall of Rodel, which made it convenient for them to talk privately and also to observe the demigod alliance below.

"This is the Blessed King's order," Sir Hundred Wisdom said calmly. "His Majesty firmly believes that in the very near future, even in the next few days, problems will arise within their ranks."

Before Lann could speak again, Gideon Ofnir had already silenced the Witcher.

"I don't know the basis for this, nor do I know what will happen, Lann. It's just that His Majesty's words were so firm and confident that I had no choice but to believe him and carry out the order." With that, Sir Hundred-Minded nodded slightly to the Witcher.

"I think you should have some idea by now... that the Prince of Cifu has more than just the people we're openly known, right?"

The Witcher nodded in agreement.

He thought of the Bell Hunter and Ironthorn that he had subdued in Sunshade City. Didn't Elonmer keep mentioning a certain 'master'?

“That’s it.” Sir Hundred Wisdom waved his hand dismissively. “A king should have privacy, and his subjects should not pry into it.”

"Since His Majesty is confident and Double Finger doesn't object, then shouldn't we, the Faded Ones, just follow his instructions?"

Lan En chuckled: "As a former high-ranking figure in the dynasty, you are now completely clueless about the situation after the ascension of the Blessed King. You are quite optimistic."

"What can you do if you can't see the light?" Sir Hundred Wisdom asked Lan En with a rather amusing tone, chuckling softly. "Tell me the truth, Lan En. What are you trying to achieve by bringing this up?"

“You’re a smart man. You can tell my next move just by looking at those mountains of orders on file. A man like that wouldn’t just reveal things to show off.”

Gideon Ofnir knew that Lane was a smart man, and Lane knew that he was a smart man.

Communication between the two is easy.

Therefore, Lann directly explained to Sir Hundred Wisdoms the predicament of Torisha, or rather, the predicament of the city of Rodel caused by the war, which was not limited to Torisha personally.

Of course, there's also Lan En's attitude towards this.

"Heh," a steady, old-fashioned laugh came from beneath Baizhi's helmet after listening. "Still a good man, Lann. Reassuring. But the orders come from the Blessed King, and the perfumers' skills are also an important asset on the battlefield."

"You're a veteran, you should know: you can't waste your resources on the battlefield."

“I didn’t intend to waste it.” The Witcher calmly looked around. “I just want to end this war as soon as possible.”

At this moment, the tremors of the Rodel walls continued unabated, and the soldiers' resounding footsteps echoed hurriedly.

A group of perfumers had already been transferred here, and now they stood at the foot of the city wall, looking bewildered and helpless, waiting to be led away by the officers of each section of the city wall and taken up onto the city wall.

Bai Zhi simply smiled and said, "Even if you don't tell me, I will inform you when the time comes. This operation is extremely important. The two demigods outside are definitely going to fight, and we don't know if the other demigod will be able to stay in the spectator seats. We need any kind of power."

"But since you've already realized it and spoken up, I have no reason to stop you."

As he spoke, Gideon Ofnir gave Lann an address, an address located outside Rodel City.

"You've left those elite soldiers you've gathered outside the city right now? Just waiting for some unknown opportunity? That's quite bold."

Lan En glanced at Bai Zhi, only to be met with a shrug in return.

“How can we win if we’re not bold? Besides, this is His Majesty’s will. I’m just a tool to perfect and carry out orders.”

So you're not taking any subjective responsibility at all?

Lan En stared speechlessly at the skilled bureaucrat.

I wonder how such a person was cultivated in that prosperous and enduring yet very primitive Golden Age of Law.

Are they really just naturally gifted smart people?
However, after dusk, Lan En once again took the elevator to the outside of the Rodel City Walls.

The smells of sulfur and blood left over from the daytime battle mingled with the odor of feces and intestinal fluid leaking from the injured abdomen. This made the Qilin snort in annoyance.

The velvet ball stood up on the horse and looked left and right, but it still couldn't find the runes that Torisia had described as being like scattered gold.

With them in hand, Lan En deftly bypassed the demigod alliance's defenses and headed to the address Bai Zhi had mentioned during the day.

It was an area not far from Rodel, hidden by uneven terrain. The entrance to the crevice was narrow, barely wide enough for a carriage to pass through, and obscured by dense trees with colorful golden leaves. At first glance, it was impossible to tell that there was a path or a space inside.

As soon as Lan En got close enough, the hairs on his neck stood on end, and he sensed that he was being locked on.

Immediately, Lan En grabbed the oblivious Qilin and stopped in place.

"Who's there?"

"Lan En? Is that you?"

The Witcher's question elicited a familiar voice.

(End of this chapter)