Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2018 1990. Portrait of Gough
Judging from Lacad's final, pitiful, and resentful cry, it seemed that he knew how Goughia got his strange 'power-charging mechanism'.

But a demigod is still a demigod, especially one as renowned as Raccard.

He rolled in the lava to extinguish the dragon flames, then dug through the lava and fled quickly, his series of movements as fast as lightning!
He ran even faster than when he wasn't seriously injured!

Clearly, Laqad wasn't running at full speed just now, but he is now.

Lan En didn't chase after them.

After all, he asked himself: if he were to fight Laqad for several tens of minutes, it would be hard to say whether he could win, let alone cause such serious damage.

Lakad is a tough nut to crack, and at present, he is less important than Gavya, who holds the power of inheritance.

The reason so many Faded Ones went after Raccard was simply because he was far stronger than Griffia. He also had a fighting style that favored wide-area magic coverage, and without restrictions, he would have a huge impact on the battlefield.

Lan En's strength and judgment have been recognized by the Faded Ones, which is why they entrusted him with handling matters alone, even though he was important but not particularly strong among the demigods.

The wave of flames that spewed from the young dragon's head quickly subsided.

As the firelight faded, a relaxed smile gradually appeared on Ge Fuya's previously sullen and distorted face.

Letting that traitor Rakad suffer painful torment can be considered as letting Gevya release the pent-up frustration he felt after being technically oppressed by Lann earlier.

A feeling of exhilaration washed over me.

But the feeling of exhilaration is only fleeting.

Just as the wave of flames was being swirled into a vortex by the powerful gust of wind generated by Raccard's charge... "Bang!!! Crack!"

The heavy, massive, and brutal black greatsword left a savage fan-shaped shadow in mid-air, landing precisely on Gefia's left wrist!

The distant and resounding impact sounded like the evening bells of a church.

The long horn growing backwards from the young dragon's head, along with Gefia's wrist, was brutally severed in two!
The dragon head, separated from Gavya's limbs, instantly transformed from a living creature into dead flesh. With a 'splat', its tongue dangled outside as it crashed into the lava.

"what!"

The sudden pain of losing his hand made Gevya roar.

He gripped the golden axe in his right hand and swung it back at Lan En!
However, the Witcher had now completely grasped Gavya's physical and mental state.

It can be said that this golden demigod was already in an open-book exam state during his battle with Lann.

"Sizzle!" *2
This was both the sound of Gefuya's blood gushing from his left wrist and the sound of Lan En casually inserting [Turbid Flow - Annihilation] into the dragon head in the lava.

With the heavy, massive blade no longer in his hand, Lan En's movements instantly became more agile and swift.

He ducked to avoid the axe that Ge Fuya swung at him as he thrust his greatsword downwards.

The golden axe handle that was lying horizontally was instead stomped on by him as he leaped up!
The Witcher's height was now barely the same as Griffith's.

The dozen or so swords on the opponent's back were not idle either, tearing through the air and thrusting towards Lan En in front of him! The tips of the swords left white streaks in the air due to their high speed!

But long before those dozen or so longswords were drawn, Lan En had already placed his hand on the hilt of the Lake Maiden's Sword at his waist.

Immediately, he drew a silver light from his waist.

"Sizzle! Clang clang~"

A dozen swords that had been clustered together from different angles snapped in two at the same horizontal plane in an instant.

The golden power that had been attached to the sword by the ash of war had dissipated over time, and steel fragments were now flying everywhere.

"Relaxation after tension makes people lose their vigilance, Gevya." Amidst the flying shards of swords, Lan En said softly, "You've even forgotten that a wave of attacks that can be formed by a dozen arms."

Ge Fuya's eyes widened, but he couldn't say a word.

Because Lan En had already grabbed his gray hair and pulled his head back.

His body was momentarily awkward due to Lan En's sword strike.

This instant is the result that Lann and Mentos could achieve after maxing out the resolution of his body, which had been modified by limb extension technology.

At this moment, this golden demigod was unable to do anything.

Under the gaze of his uncontrollably dilated pupils, Lann grabbed his hair, forcing him to expose the junction of his neck and collarbone.

then……

"Bah!"

Arondette, who had just slashed horizontally and shattered more than a dozen swords, swiftly and decisively stopped the momentum of his horizontal swing and precisely changed direction.

It pierced the skin and muscle diagonally downwards from the junction of Gefya's neck and collarbone, penetrating into his chest cavity!
Gougher's heart was pierced through, and blood was squeezed out of the rupture with the last beat of his strong heart, gushing into the sky!
The heart damage is far more serious than the massive bleeding caused by the two previous bouts of hemorrhage due to hemorrhage!
The dozen or so arms behind Griffith waved in vain, trying to grab the Witcher at the last moment.

But those arms, only halfway out, were stained red by the blood gushing from Goffya's neck like a fountain, and fell limply to his body.

Along with Ge Fuya's body, he slammed into the lava lake with a 'thud'. Blood continued to spurt out after he fell, landing on the lava with a 'hissing' sound as it evaporated.

Now that things have come to this, this demigod, who is the most powerful figure in the demigod alliance, is no longer alive, but he also no longer has the ability to make a comeback.

His eyes, which were lifeless as he lay on the lava, were a mixture of weakness from blood loss and bewilderment at his perceived failure.

He paid homage to his brother's golden axe, and the broken sword hilts in his hands, too, fell clattering and clattering onto the lava due to his weakness from blood loss.

But just as that pile of scrap metal sword hilts was slowly sinking into the lava, Lan En bent down and reached in, pulling out something the size of a normal person's palm.

"Is this important to you?"

Lan En picked up the object and noticed that Ge Fuya's eyes moved along with it, but quickly closed again, as if he didn't want to hear Lan En speak anymore.

But he didn't respond, or rather, he didn't have the energy to speak, while others did.

"Lan En, are you still not fully recovered?" Gideon Ofnir, his body shimmering with magical light, approached on lava, saying as he walked, "You don't even recognize the portrait of the emperor you once served."

Beside him, Baglem, Dolores, Krepp, and even Christopher on his warhorse ignored the two men and continued chasing after Larcade in the direction he had fled.

However, compared to Rakad, who was not seriously injured before being hit by Gavya's charged dragon fire, the Faded Ones were in much worse condition.

Christopher's warhorse was clearly not the brown horse he had initially ridden; it was cow-colored under the horse armor.

Baglem has lost one of his hands, and he is now carrying the greatsword of the hunting gods with one hand.

These are just the Faded Ones who have caught up; those that haven't are probably still on the battlefield, in even worse condition. Or, in the worst-case scenario, they might be dead.

“Once Raccard focuses on escaping, we have no chance of catching up without your Qilin, and even if we do, we probably won’t be able to defeat him,” Gideon Ofnir explained to Lann as he watched the Faded Ones chase after them. “I analyzed it with them, but as you know, Faded Ones don’t give up easily.”

With that, Sir Hundred Wisdom shrugged.

Obviously, he had tried to persuade them, but since they were so persistent and wouldn't listen, Baizhi didn't feel obligated to follow suit.

“Of course I recognize the portrait of the First King.” After Baizhi explained, Lann brought the topic back on track. “I just don’t know what it means to Golphia.”

He held up the object, which was about the size of a normal person's palm.

It was a small, white bust that appeared to be made of plaster, depicting the profile of the First King, Govre—the already imposing figure of the King of Elden, with the head of a majestic lion perched on his shoulder, roaring.

That was Theros, the "Beast Chancellor" who assisted the King of Elden, enabling him to maintain his rationality amidst endless battle lust and govern the country.

In this composition, the roaring lion symbolizes wisdom and restraint, while the human symbolizes boundless fighting spirit and savage ferocity.

It is very different from the general world, but it conforms to the history of civilization development of the world where the border is located.

This is the image of the First King, Griffin, that often appears in various paintings and records of the Golden Dynasty. Even if Lann didn't recognize it when he first arrived, he must recognize it now.

There's a large oil painting depicting this image hanging in every round-table hall.

Upon hearing Lan En's words, Bai Zhi became interested and stepped closer on the lava, examining the helmet adorned with ears.

Finally, he exclaimed in admiration, like a knowledgeable antique dealer.

“【Portrait of Geffrey】! This is one of the legendary amulets!” Gideon Ofnir turned his head and looked at the demigod on the ground, whose body was half-submerged in lava. “Lord Geffrey, is this a parting gift from His Majesty Geffrey before he was exiled? It still carries the power of the War King!”

"It's truly invaluable. Bringing it to the battlefield demonstrates your resolve in this war. But unfortunately..."

Unfortunately, it is indeed a pity that no matter how determined Gavrilo was, he has now been defeated.

Another interpretation is that using Baizhi's tone and voice to say "it's a pity" sounds more like a sarcastic remark.

As he spoke, Gideon Ofnir also introduced the abilities of the 'legendary amulet' of this border region to Lann.

As the War King who swept across the borderlands, Gefulei's combat power and fighting spirit seemed inexhaustible. He imbued his portrait with a portion of that power and left it as a gift to his younger brother before leaving the borderlands.

As long as the wearer launches a powerful, charged attack, then even magic, prayer, or battle ash will all be directly blessed by the power of King Gofure on this amulet!

As Bai Zhi finished his introduction, Lan En was already looking at the silent, closed-eyed Ge Fuya on the ground with an unspoken gaze.

"Will the Blessed King like this trophy?"

Lann held up the portrait of Griffith and asked Baizhi.

The other party looked quite surprised: "What do you mean by 'the spoils of the Blessed King'? These are your spoils of war, Lan En. He was the enemy you defeated, so the credit and spoils are naturally yours."

The divine dynasties sometimes exhibited a remarkably simple and honest character.

The Witcher shrugged: "But I heard that the credit for this battle will be rewarded afterward."

“That’s yours too.” Bai Zhi waved his hand dismissively. “Merit rewards are merit rewards, and spoils of war are spoils of war. This is a principle that has existed since ancient times.”

"That's good." Lan En weighed the portrait of Ge Fulei in his hand and said with a smile, "Actually, I was thinking of using the amount of the post-war reward to ask the Blessed King for a favor, but I was afraid that the amount would not be enough."

(End of this chapter)