Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2045 2017. The New Underground Dynasty

"Looking around," the plush ball whispered to the half-crouching Witcher as it moved closer to Lann's legs, "this is the most suspicious place, meow!"

Even those who violently abducted Michaela would not deny his noble status as a demigod and a god.

In this isolated island in the underground space, it seems that only this temple ruin standing at the highest point of the island can provide adequate protection and facilities to house a captured demigod.

After checking everything from low to high, the velvet ball and Lan En found this place to be the most suspicious.

On Lan En's eyeballs, the pupils constantly contracted and dilated, adjusting the focus to gain more detailed observation.

At the same time, his nostrils and ears were also twitching, taking in pheromones from the air and receiving sound wave information.

The vast temple ruins before him looked lifeless, but Lan En dared not be careless at all.

When they were searching below, they saw the Platinum Child whose skin had turned blood red, a giant raven mutated by the power of blood, and wild dogs whose skin was festering and bleeding profusely.

But these were minor characters, and Lan En and the velvet ball tacitly bypassed them, not even intending to waste a few seconds on them.

As a hidden force capable of abducting Michaela from the Sacred Tree, Lan En couldn't believe that the main base of this force consisted only of these peripheral figures, and not many truly ruthless individuals.

"Looks like all the ruthless ones are here." Lan En whispered to the velvet ball. "There's not a drop of blood on the surface, but the smell of blood is even stronger than in the blood lake below!"

It's obviously a den of wolves and tigers.

However, after the two looked at each other, neither of them showed any fear or intention of turning back.

Anyway, the two of them have ventured into quite a few dangerous places.

This time, however, the technical difficulty is higher, as it requires maintaining secrecy.

Lan En walked cautiously, bending over as he went.

Under his deliberate control, the armor on his body did not make any noise as usual, remaining as quiet as if it were soaking in lubricating oil.

The velvet ball followed closely behind.

The first impression Lan En got from the temple ruins was that the architectural style was similar to that of ancient Greek temples.

The use of large stones, the neatly arranged thick stone pillars, and so on.

The Witcher walked to the edge of the marble pillar and waved without turning his head.

The velvet ball immediately seemed to understand him and ran towards him on all fours.

Four cat paws silently stepped on Lann's palm, and the Witcher smoothly tossed them upwards.

The plush ball's exquisite light breathing technique made it seem as if it were floating in mid-air, adjusting its posture during the ample time it had in the air, and landing perfectly on the top of the thick pillar.

If you let it climb up on its own, it will inevitably make a soft scraping sound as its little paws scratch against the rocks.

The velvet ball peeked out from the top of the stone pillar and gestured to the boss below, indicating that everything was normal and the view was good.

Lan En was below, groping his way into every nook and cranny of the temple ruins, stopping every now and then to activate his eagle-eye vision and use his radar-like senses to check for dangers.

Meanwhile, the velvet balls bounced silently above the neatly arranged stone pillars.

Its small size means that even if someone glances at it from this angle, it can simply lie on top of the stone pillar and leave no trace. Therefore, it can advance more confidently and boldly than Lan En, serving as a scout.

Walking on the stone surface is much easier than walking on the blood lake. Among the stealth footwork techniques, this is the simplest type of ground environment that allows one to move silently.

The temple ruins are not large, but the terrain is somewhat complicated due to their age and the dilapidated state of the buildings.

However, the complex terrain also facilitates covert infiltration.

The first to discover valuable information was the velvet ball standing on high.

The kitten was about four or five pillars ahead of Lann. It had just jumped onto a new pillar in front of it when it stood up, waved to the Witcher on the ground behind it, and pointed to a direction to the side.

Lan En nodded to it from afar, with the plush ball still leading the way, while Lan En steadily approached from behind, heading towards the spot where the kitten had previously discovered.

They walked for about two minutes, and the further they went, the harder it became for Lann to hide.

Because the architectural remains in this area have been kept very neat, with no fallen stone pillars, smashed stones, collapsed walls, or anything like that.

This area, which has clearly been heavily cleared, is far too unfriendly for stealth activities.

But this also shows that this place is very important.

Sure enough, after Lan En followed the velvet ball to a corner, the view suddenly opened up before him.

This is a temple that has been completely cleared and rebuilt.

Large stone pillars stand on both sides.

In the deepest part of the vast temple, where the objects of worship should be enshrined, the stone platform is not adorned with statues of any deity or king.

Instead, it was... an egg? Or rather, a cocoon? It was a huge egg-shaped object about two or three meters long, with an outer layer that looked like it was made of countless white threads or hair strands, pale and messy.

You can still vaguely see traces of blood seeping from the inside out onto the silk threads.

A large, withered hand, so thin it was just skin and bones, hung limply outside.

It looks like it was torn open from the inside out, revealing a crack in the cocoon.

Then, as if it had used up all its strength just by tearing out a crack, it slumped at the bottom of the crack like a piece of dead flesh.

In front of that giant cocoon, a number of people stood in the square.

In just a short time after peeking out, Lan En had already determined that the bloody smell was coming from these people.

These people were all about the same height as Lan En, and each of them was dressed in gorgeous clothes.

The blood-red and deep blue silks reflected a high-quality sheen on them.

These people bowed their heads respectfully, standing in the square facing the enormous cocoon, and the only person standing in front of the cocoon—a son of an ominous sign!
The son of the ominous sign was much taller than the others, about the same size as Mongot, who had met Lann before.

This body type is commonly found among demigods.

Horns of various creatures grew wildly on his body, with one argali horn covering half of his face.

Her clothes were more elaborate and gorgeous than those of the others, and they were also a red and blue color-blocked design.

Lan En felt that the style of this clothing should be from the Lienian region.

The Witcher stood against the wall at the corner, his enhanced senses, honed through multiple surgeries, beginning to operate at full capacity.

He saw the son of the ominous sign, holding a huge, blood-stained, and ornate trident, kneeling before the enormous cocoon, and offering a kiss to the hand that emerged from the cocoon, a hand that looked like dead flesh.

Although Lann could only see the back and a slight side view from his angle, he could still feel the son of the ominous sign's respect, cherishment, and...love for that hand.

[Lyman's Ear] is filtering out noise under Lann's adjustment, picking up the sounds from the distant square.

"I can't wait to spend the night with you, Michaela! Oh, my divine companion!"

The voice of the ominous child, whose identity was clearly extraordinary, drifted into Lan En's ears on the wind.

Michaela?
Is that cocoon containing Michaela?
What has he done to Michaela now?

Wasn't he supposed to be a 'boy who never grows up'? Even though that exposed hand is so thin, it could easily hold a person's hand!
Upon hearing the first word from afar, Lan En frowned deeply.

He looked up at an angle and saw the velvet ball, seemingly unable to hear or see clearly, wriggling like a cat-like worm atop the stone pillar, as if it wanted to risk getting closer.

But Lan En immediately gave it a wink, suppressing the cat's restless and adventurous nature, and making it stay obediently at the top of the stone pillar.

The words of the Child of Ominous Signs are filled with a chilling affection... almost to the point of being 'yandere'.

His hoarse voice became melodious and hesitant as he lifted that withered, large hand.

After he had expressed his 'love' while holding that hand, he stood up, supported by his trident, and turned to face the rest of the crowd in the square.

He spread his arms wide, making his large, magnificent robes appear even larger and more imposing.

"Gentlemen, the dynasty we are about to establish has obtained the most important link! But the time is not yet ripe."

The people in the square stared intently at the son of the ominous sign.

There was none of the normal taboo, disgust, or hatred that the people of the Golden Tree had towards the Child of the Ominous. On the contrary, Lan En could feel the burning intensity of their gazes even as a mere observer.

The son of the ominous sign preached to the crowd, and his every word and action received a full response from the audience.

The eyes and enthusiasm of those people followed his trident.

From the interaction before them, the Witcher was able to discern the hierarchical structure of their identities.

The son of the ominous sign claimed to 'establish a dynasty,' meaning he proclaimed himself a king?
However, when he announced these things, he stood on the altar of the temple, holding a magnificent trident, which seemed to indicate that he had a certain status in the faith.

...Both a king and a high priest?
And which deity is revered? Just by smelling the extremely strong stench of blood all around, Lan En felt that the answer was already self-evident.

The most powerful dynasty in the border region right now is the Golden Dynasty, the only dynasty in history to have conquered the entire border region.

Since the goal is to establish a new dynasty, the benchmark should naturally be the Golden Dynasty.

The power of the Golden Dynasty lay in the fact that its founder was a true deity, and that he was paired with a king.

The new dynasty may not have gods, but it should at least have a divine being worthy of participating in the future competition for the divine throne.

But since this self-proclaimed king, the son of ominous signs, has already worshipped the Mother of Truth, what's the point of bringing Michaela here?
The laws he carries are not the same as those of the True Mother.

If it were simply to eliminate competitors in advance, that would be one thing, but when the Son of the Ominous announced it, he clearly stated that Michaela was "an important part of establishing a dynasty"?

(End of this chapter)