Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2002 1974. Storm War Ashes
"Bang!!!"

The sound was like the tolling of a church bell, distant and deep... but at this moment, it also carried a sense of desolation and ferocity!
With its dark, heavy blade and bone-white edge, it was a massive sword with a simple appearance but an astonishing size!

Such a blade, even among the warriors of the border region, belongs to the category of being extremely violent and barbaric.

In ancient times, during the early stages of the Titan Wars, when humanity was still directly confronting giants, there were members of the Knights of the Golden Law who used similar weapons.

Their power was grand and exaggerated.

Such a terrifying weapon is only truly effective when facing a terrifying enemy.

Later, as the war against the giants progressed to its later stages, the savage battles with the giants had ended, and the knights of the Golden Law began to deal more with enemies who were also humanoid.

The targets of war have changed, and the methods and manifestations of war have become increasingly 'civilized,' making the knights' honing of this primal power within their bodies seem increasingly unnecessary.

When engaging enemies of similar size, the benefits of improving technique and speed are clearly greater than using heavy weapons that are difficult to control and quick to change tactics.

As a result, few people used similar weapons anymore; instead, they used standard hand-and-a-half swords and spears...

Even those warriors who are famous for using greatswords, the so-called "greatswords" they wield are actually only about the same size as the German two-handed greatswords in Lann's home world.

Despite being called a 'giant sword', the blade is at most three fingers wide and only slightly thicker than a regular longsword; it is long and narrow in shape.

That is, the type used by [Gathering Beasts] Bernal in the round table hall.

It's not even in the same league as the violent and heavy feeling that [Turbid Flow - Annihilation] possesses.

Today, Lan En, sitting atop the Qilin and unleashing a sword strike with [Turbid Flow - Annihilation], seems to have suddenly pulled this war back to that barbaric, 'uncivilized'... yet remarkably decisive era!
The bone-white blade struck the ground of the Yatan Plateau.

The land radiated by the power of the Golden Tree was completely unharmed the moment it came into contact with [Turbid Flow - Annihilation].

It even caused the greatsword's blade to bounce slightly upwards, as if it had hit a hard object.

But in the next instant...

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Sizzle!"

The roar of the explosion instantly intensified!

The golden land of the Asian Plateau was shattered with a deafening roar!

Spiderweb-like cracks instantly covered an area of ​​tens of meters in radius! The ground was ripped up by tens of centimeters!
This is only the area under the feet of the Qilin.

The momentum of this sword strike remained undiminished, with a massive amount of air being stirred and guided by the enormous blade.

The sound of the rapidly circulating air pressure surging was just like a chainsaw!
A solid blade of air surged forward, following the trajectory of [Turbid Flow - Annihilation]!

[Water-shaped Sword - Dragon Flash]!
The violent, yet skillfully restrained, airflow blades surged forward, cleanly slicing through the ground with a frighteningly smooth cut!
The demigod alliance, soldiers and knights, along the path of the airflow blades were instantly blown away and flung about like toy dolls!
A line was forcibly swept open inside the formation! A gap!
However, as Lan En watched the warriors of the demigod alliance being slashed away by his air blades, a hint of amazement appeared on his face.

Because not many people actually suffered fatal injuries from this sword strike.

Conversely, most of those who were slashed away were only thrown into the air because their weight and strength were insufficient to overcome the impact of the air blades after they reacted and tried to defend themselves.

With such reaction speed and strength, these people should not be killed by falling from such a height, even if they land.

The Golden Tree People, who had previously enjoyed the Golden Law era where everyone had immortality and reincarnation, had developed exceptionally high-quality professional soldiers among them!

If this sword had struck the Nilfgaardian army in the magical medieval era, there would have been no survivors along that line.

And here... "Drink up!"

The airflow blades unleashed by 【Dragon Flash】 were like a curtain stretching across the sky, lying across the middle of the demigod alliance's formation, extending for nearly two hundred meters!
The light distortion caused by the difference in air density made the entire airflow blade look like a giant piece of transparent glass.

As Lan En cleared a space of more than 200 meters in the army formation with a single sword strike, and the air blade showed no signs of exhaustion or dissipation.

At the end of the airflow blade's propulsion, a figure suddenly stepped forward, blocking the way in front of [Dragon Flash]!
It was a knight who had lost his homeland, and the small ancient dragon statue that decorated his helmet was covered by a deep red hooded scarf.

This posture is unique even among the Knights of the Lost Land. It's an outfit that only becomes a habitual attire after the Dragon Offering Ritual has been performed more than once, transforming one into a seasoned Dragon Offering Warrior.

The lost knight held an axe-spear, but standing in front of [Dragon Flash], he made no attempt to use the axe-spear's long shaft to block the magnificent airflow blade.

Instead, he gripped the long handle of the axe and began to shake it as if he were stirring something.

The Witcher narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw clearly what the Lost Knight was up to at the other end of the airflow blade!

"call!"

A fierce wind suddenly howled around the lost knight, following the rhythm of his swinging of his axe and spear!

【Battle Ashes - Unleash the Storm】!
The spiraling storm countered the dense airflow blades. The air structure was disrupted and disturbed, and since [Dragon Flash] had already slashed over two hundred meters, the originally sharp and concentrated airflow blades were swept past the Lost Knight on both sides at the moment of impact, disintegrating into a weak and merely violent gust of wind.

The wind swept through the dense crowd, passing through armor and weapons, carrying a sound like howling.

The red cloth wrapped around the helmet of the lost knight fluttered in the wind.

At first glance, it seemed that he had really dealt with the [Dragon Flash].

But this sword strike is not very effective against the demigod alliance, so for Lan En... it doesn't really matter!
"Boom!"

Originally, by using Krep's [Darkness] to obscure their vision and close the distance, they had already rushed to the very edge of the demigod alliance's formation.

The speed of the charge had reached its peak, and within the two hundred-meter gap cleared by Lan En's sword, the cries of the Knights of Rodel were like thunder!

As for Lan En, who was at the forefront... Qilin really stepped on a landmine!
"Xilulu!"

Arcs of electricity swirled around the crystalline horns of the ancient dragon's head in the New World. Its incredible speed made its figure seem almost like an illusion!
The lost knight, who had just blocked the [Dragon Flash], had barely blinked when the magnificent steed and the dignified and beautiful knight suddenly appeared in front of him!

At the same time, a heavy and violent dark shadow came into his view!
"Oh!"

A pale red aura burst from the blade of [Turbid Flow - Annihilation] with a muffled bang!

The demon hunter, wielding a greatsword atop his warhorse, had hair as white as molten silver that flowed freely, mingling with the flames of his battle aura. His gaze, looking down from above, was breathtakingly beautiful.

"when!"

This time, the Knight of the Lost Land truly used the long shaft of his halberd to defend himself.

Like the resounding clang of church bells echoing in my ears, followed by a trembling sensation in my hands that made it almost impossible to hold the weapon!
Beneath the helmet of the Lost Knight, his eyes, which shared the same vertical pupils as the Witcher's, suddenly narrowed!
'This sword...?!'

Before the thought could even finish forming in his mind, the axe-spear shaft that was blocking the blade of the [Turbid Flow - Annihilation] sword snapped in two!
In the final moments, the Knight of Lost Home could only stomp his foot on the ground with his instinctive skill, and with each stomp, a sudden and violent whirlwind once again swirled around him.

[War Ashes - Storm Attack]!
This was originally war ash, carried by a storm, leaping and charging toward the enemy.

But at this moment, the Lost Knight wisely used it to retreat! Following the direction of the [Turbid Stream - Annihilation] blade's swing, he jumped back ahead of time.

Even so, he was already too slow.

First came the feeling of weight, like being struck by a heavy hammer, emanating from his battle-hardened breastplate, the oppressive feeling penetrating straight to his lungs!

In an instant, the Knight of the Lost Home's lungs were rendered incapacitated by the impact, and he could only exhale but not inhale.

Then, as the metal armor deformed to its limit, it was torn apart by the blade. Through the gruesome rift in the armor, the blade of [Turbid Flow - Annihilation] had already touched his flesh…

"call!"

The force of the greatsword's slash and impact, combined with the Lost Knight's own [Storm Strike], sent him flying like a cannonball straight into the demigod alliance behind him!

The commotion this time was no less than that of Lan En's [Dragon Flash] earlier!

The Knight of the Lost Land was like a bowling ball, hurtling backward for over a hundred meters in one go! And what was sent flying like a pin was a whole line of demigods.

Although the Qilin is fast, it only gets a head start.

The following Rodel knights quickly rushed into the demigod alliance's formation through the gap that Lann had torn open.

At that moment, the shouts of battle and battle cries suddenly erupted like thunder!
The charging Rodel knights cut through the flank of the demigod alliance like waves, and sped off directly in the direction that would pierce through them!

Although the coalition forces still outnumbered the coalition overwhelmingly, the chaos was their biggest hindrance.

The surrounding area was in complete chaos, making it impossible to organize a proper interception to stop this small group of Rodel knights who had already charged forward!
Amidst the chaos of war, a fire broke out within the demigod alliance. It was caused by their torches, which had fallen to the ground and caught fire during the battle.

The charging Rodel Knights all had [Starlight] above their heads, so there was no need to worry about them.

Amidst the fiery chaos, the lost knight with his helmet wrapped in red cloth immediately grabbed another spear from the ground.

The long pole is decorated with fire patterns, so it should be a weapon from the Volcano Mansion.

It was as if the whole world had fallen into chaos and wailing.

Some of the dazed, lost knights threw away the broken halberd handles in their hands and gently placed their gauntlets on their chests.

'As expected…' The helmet adorned with the ancient dragon statue lifted, gazing into the distance. 'That sword… it 'bite' my weapon in half, and it 'bit' off a piece of my flesh!'

(End of this chapter)