Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1994 1966. Weapon Enhancement
"what is that?"

Led by Dolores, Lann squeezed into this hidden military area.

At first glance, this place appears to be an open space occupied by the Knights of Rodel as a garrison, but there is actually a small statue deep inside.

This signifies that this open space was not unknown to anyone throughout history.

It was a strange statue: a young girl and a toddler kneeling on the ground facing each other, their upper bodies embracing.

It was as if the two of them were kneeling on the ground, crying and comforting each other.

This style of sculpture is rare in both the borderlands and the Golden Dynasty, partly because they are too small; this small sculpture is only about two meters tall. Compared to the Golden Dynasty statues, which often resemble towering buildings, the difference is self-evident.

Secondly, there's the content. The sculptures of the Golden Dynasty have always been grand and magnificent, depicting wise men pondering with books and spirited knights in full armor.

The content of this statue, however, seems a bit too sentimental.

"I don't know." Dolores helped Lann spread his camping sleeping bag on the ground and answered casually, "There are so many statues and ancient sites in the border area, who can count them all? I believe even Gideon couldn't."

The history of the border region is so long, and the people who continued this history generally lived long lives, which led to the situation described by Dolores: the ancient sites and cultures are so numerous and complex that they cannot be sorted out or counted.

In a place where you can find a bunch of cultural relics just by turning over the ground, it's no wonder that no one pays attention to this statue.

Dolores laid Lann's sleeping bag on the ground, thus claiming a spot.

The plush ball bounced and landed on the sleeping bag, took its two cat swords off its back, and then eagerly took out the sword oil and cloth for maintenance. It sat down on the sleeping bag and began to busy itself with its own things.

These two cat swords, which it already owned, seem quite rare.

However, Dolores only needed to glance at the velvet ball to know what was going on.

The two swords of the plush ball: the Thunder Cat Sword and the Silver Cat Sword.

The two weapons looked exactly the same as before, except that the blade of the [Thunder Cat Sword] seemed even sharper than before, in addition to the blue lightning that was already there.

On the blade of the Silver Cat Sword, in addition to the silver coating that is well bonded to Valyrian steel, some faint blue-green specks can be seen floating on the blade when the oily cloth from the velvet ball is wiped across it.

These two swords had already been enhanced by Xiu Gu, the mixed-race blacksmith in the Round Table Hall, in the previous few days.

It wasn't enhanced to a very powerful level, after all, Lan En hadn't managed to collect enough high-level forging stones on this trip.

Right now, all of it has been used on the two swords made of velvet balls.

During the enhancement process, the two swords belonging to the Xiugu Gang were also fitted with battle ash.

The Thunder Cat Sword is equipped with a fairly common Combo skill, while the Silver Cat Sword is equipped with a magic-type battle ash, the Shining Stone Magic Pebble, which Lan En and his group obtained from Lienia.

It was obtained from a knight commander of the Cuckoo Knights. It can release a ball of radiant stone magic pebbles in the form of battle ash for ranged attacks.

This battle ash also imbued the Silver Cat Sword with the Radiant Stone magic attribute.

When slashing, it unleashes azure-blue brilliance magic, causing additional damage.

This was the kitten's own idea. It felt that the Silver Cat Sword was originally meant to deal with things that were supernatural or ghostly, so adding a magic attribute attack to it would be a good fit.

This enhancement exhausted all of Lan En's forging stones and runes.

Yes, he also possesses runes, the blessed fragments that are now becoming the most valuable currency in the borderlands.

After all, back in Sunshade City, he had already pierced the heart of [Ironthorn] Elonmel, and Velvet Ball and Kirin had also dealt with a large group of corrupt perfumers.

According to current discoveries, harming those who still possess the blessed golden tree essence within their bodies can plunder those blessed fragments.

After taking action in Sunshade City, Lan En, Rongbuqiu, and Qilin had actually accumulated a sum of runes.

It's just that they are not people of the Golden Tree and have never been exposed to any of the blessings of the laws of the borderlands, so they are simply slow to realize it.

When Lan En took the two cat swords to Xiu Gu, he was about to ask if they could negotiate the price, since they were acquaintances.

He figured that since he didn't have any runes on hand, he could probably get some credit from Xiugu first.

But then, the hybrid blacksmith gave the witcher a cold, sidelong glance.

"Buy on credit? Sure, I'd like to offer you credit. But Lan En, could you provide me with the power for forging?"

"What the hell?" The Witcher was completely bewildered.

The mixed-race old blacksmith leisurely swung the hammer in his hand: "Forging is an ancient and profound technique, and the technique of forging is undoubtedly demanding."

"Before Queen Marika shattered the Elden Ring, the power I used in forging came directly from the Hall of the Round Table. After all, I had been forcibly connected to the Hall of the Round Table from a very early age."

“I serve you, I am your captive and slave, it is normal for me to give up my skills. But the Hall of the Round Table cannot expect me to provide the power for forging myself, can it? If that is the case, then I am very lucky, at most ten times, I will be exhausted.”

Xiu Gu chuckled at Lan En with his ashen face, "You've seen what Two Fingers looks like now. The power of the Round Table Hall is on the verge of collapse; I can barely absorb any more. And you still don't want to give up your runes? You've got some nerve, young man." The reason runes have become the hardest currency in the entire border region with such unstoppable momentum is because they are not ordinary currency, but rather tiny fragments containing blessed power.

Its inherent power to bestow blessings is its true value.

Without a word, Lan En and Rongbuqiu immediately repaired all the runes.

The three of them didn't really know how to give it, but Xiu Gu waved his hand behind the anvil, as if calling out to someone, and some golden specks of light drifted from Lan En and the other two towards the hybrid blacksmith.

In that instant, the Witcher vaguely saw that the runes seemed to be floating out from their respective guardian spirits.

I don't know when the guardian spirits got hold of these runes.

On Lan En, both the Guardian Spirit Qilin and the Guardian Spirit Xuanwu seemed unmoved.

[Guardian Spirit - Qilin] Its indifferent and calm eyes didn't even glance at the golden fragments that were being drawn from the golden edges of its blue scales.

He stood tall and proud from beginning to end.

However, the Lazy Fox on the Qilin's back was carrying its own small teapot, and was even trying to use the lid to gather some runes back. The movement was like gathering tea leaves.

Next to the plush ball, [Shancha], a fluffy cat ball, was also bouncing around, trying to bite back some of the golden fragments.

But in the end, all the runes were taken away by Xiu Gu, and this mixed-race blacksmith was still unhappy, saying that it was almost not enough.

"How many times have you reinforced the velvet ball?"

Dolores bent down and asked the kitten that was maintaining its weapons.

The plush ball proudly replied, "It was enhanced seven times, meow!"

Dolores rubbed the velvet ball's head and straightened up.

At the border, the upgraded weapons don't look much different from the unupgraded ones, but the difference in performance and power is real.

Therefore, when you see someone taking great care of maintaining an old weapon as if it were a brand new one, you can basically tell that the person has just upgraded the weapon.

Strengthen it again and again.

"It's reassuring to know you're here." Suddenly, a voice came from behind Lan En.

The Witcher turned around in slight surprise; he hadn't heard a sound from the other party at such close range.

Given the capabilities of the [Ear of Lyman], there is only one possibility: the other party used some means to eliminate sound.

Turning my head, I saw the figure of [Two-Finger Spy] Krep.

He nimbly squeezed through the narrow gap between the two Rhodes knights without any collision or scrape.

The spies and assassins who loyally served Two Fingers had their usual gloomy expressions, but as for Lan En, they did indeed show reassuring approval, just as they had said.

He is indeed a believer in the two-finger faith, but having faith means you have to do good deeds for the object of your faith.

Although he often doubted other people's motives and loyalty, since Lann had come here, in Krepp's eyes he had been approved by the Hundred Wisdoms and was a trustworthy person.

"A warrior who can defeat the Forge Knights would be a great asset at this time."

Krepp praised him, then came up to Lann and nodded to him as a greeting.

When he stood with Dolores, one of the Faded Ones, Lann immediately understood how Baizhi had arranged his manpower.

No matter how careful the Rodel Knights were, they were still heavily armored knights. To hide in the enemy-occupied territory outside the city, the Round Table Hall specifically dispatched a spy and a hunter.

Both are light and quiet types, here to protect this garrison.

"Who else has been assigned?" Lan En asked in a low voice, while scanning the surroundings. "You guys aren't the type suited for assaults, so surely you can't leave out a qualified leader among these hundreds of knights?"

Hundreds of knights hidden outside the battlefield—in the ordinary world, this configuration could determine the outcome of a battle.

However, this is a battle for the succession of the divine dynasty. Without enough strong individuals, it would be difficult for such a small number of people to make a splash on the battlefield.

“Viher is here too; he’s reading in his tent. And the leader of the Rhodes Knights is Christopher.”

Dolores said, pointing in a direction. In that direction, a knight who looked no different from the other Rhodes knights stood up and waved.

Christopher was wearing armor, so he showed no intention of coming over.

After Dolores finished speaking, Krep looked at Lann seriously and asked, "Is there still no news from the city? When exactly will the Blessed King make his move?"

(End of this chapter)