Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2049 2021. Well-prepared
This cemetery plain, filled with graves, is not a flat natural landscape.

Marlene said this place was "the place where all death converged from ancient times until the Golden Law era."

Places with such special functions naturally hold a special status.

Scattered across the cemetery plain are many buildings resembling small viewing pavilions.

The stone that makes up these buildings is as dark and gloomy as the sky of the Shadowlands, making one feel no beauty in the landscape, only a lifeless and oppressive atmosphere.

Or rather, this place, which is a gathering place for death... is how it was supposed to be.

"Ka!"

As Lann was patrolling and inspecting the campsite for the night, he passed a small pavilion when a piercing bird call came from the top of the pavilion.

A heavy flapping sound of wings came from high to low as it rushed toward the passing witcher.

Lan En, who was walking and scanning his surroundings, didn't even turn his head.

He raised his hand and reached out to grab at the air.

His arm precisely intercepted a sharp bird claw that was about to pry open his skull.

The bird's claws were strong and thick, enough to completely grip the head of an average-sized person.

But now, the bird's claws were completely unable to break free from the man's grasp. And in the next moment, a muffled 'thud' resounded!
Lan En lashed the large bird that was swooping down at him onto the grass in front of him like a whip.

The wind pressure pressed a large clump into the withered grass, giving the other party no chance to struggle. Then, Lan En stomped on it!
"Bang! Crack!"

The bird's head was crushed to pieces by the Witcher.

It was only then that Lan En finally saw what the thing that attacked him looked like.

It was about the same size as the giant local chicken I had eaten in Ashina Country, and it looked just as ferocious.

However, the large bird's feathers and flesh had a more stone-like texture.

Standing on the small pavilion, most people who see it would probably just think it's some kind of sculpture or landscape feature.

Lan En's caution upon first arriving in the Shadowlands led him to gently tap the large bird's head before lifting his foot.

He looked curiously at the sole of his shoe, where a cold, blue-white flame was burning, but the flame was too small and dissipated in a short while.

"In other words, if a normal fight breaks out, this bird can also breathe [spiritual fire]."

【Spirit Fire】This is a power that reappeared in the Borderlands after the world order was disrupted by the shattering of the magic ring, when the ancient laws of death returned and the Bird of Death reappeared.

However, in the Shadowlands... Lan En looked around and saw that among the boundless sea of ​​grass and spirit tombs, these small pavilions with large birds on top were scattered, but their absolute number was not small at all.

“These are grave-guarding birds.” A calm, girlish voice suddenly rang out from behind the Witcher. “They are ancient golems, modeled after birds of death, guarding the spirit graves where the dead gather.”

Lan En watched as the runes on the gravedigger bird turned into golden sand and scattered onto himself. He released the bird's claws and stopped looking at it.

"I thought you didn't want to talk to anyone after arriving in the Shadowlands." Lan En ignored the new knowledge provided by his 'Borderlands Encyclopedia' and instead looked at the girl's one eye, asking, "You rejected me just now."

Melina wrapped herself in an unusually large cloak, opened her mouth but then closed it again.

"I'm so...sorry."

There's really nothing to apologize for; even Melina herself finds it strange. After all, she and Lan En were just partners, fellow travelers working together to restore stability to the world, not subordinates to each other.

But when she saw the questioning and concerned look in the other person's eyes, Melina felt her mind go blank and blurted out an apology.

It was as if she was blaming herself for rejecting his call earlier.

The soul girl gently shook her head, her light reddish-brown shoulder-length hair swaying in response.

Melina, who is usually indifferent and aloof, was able to make such a gesture, which was a sign that she was in great turmoil.

"I never expected that you would actually be able to come to the Shadowlands..." Halfway through her sentence, even Melina's expression, which resembled that of a typical emotionless girl from an ancient era, couldn't help but reveal complex feelings. "This is truly of great importance. And it's extraordinary."

"That's why I'm seeking your advice."

Lan En walked into the pavilion, leaned against a stone pillar, crossed his arms, and stood there, looking ready to hear the whole story.

“Ever since Marlenia found out where she was, her behavior has struck me as very strange. It’s as if she knew about this place all along, and even cared about it. But I never expected that she would end up here now.”

“Actually, no one could have imagined that someone could enter the Shadowlands at this time.” Melina followed Lann into the small pavilion, her only open right eye staring blankly at the endless withered grass and the illusory spirit tombs nestled among it. “Michaela… he must have been gathering intelligence on the Shadowlands for a long time.” “Then, after being kidnapped and seeing the cursed blood on his kidnappers, he immediately realized this was a path into the Shadowlands, and then he used his kidnappers to get in.”

"The creatures that attacked you when you first arrived in the Shadowlands are called Blood Fiends."

The young-looking girl, with a calm and serene demeanor, told Lan En stories of those ancient times.

"They were originally a slave race of the Horned People who lived in the Shadowlands. In their painful and hopeless lives, they discovered the original faith of the True Mother."

"This law was not initially manifested in any god or man; rather, it was discovered by believers themselves, which was quite a novelty at the time."

"The teleportation ability of 【Cursed Blood】, the remaining blood monster race in the Shadowlands... it seems that Michaela already knew about these things outside."

"You mean he went to great lengths to come here? Willingly?" the Witcher asked, frowning. "For what? Was the kidnapping process safe and controllable? He still has such a large empire as the Sacred Tree."

"To be honest, I don't have much of a memory of Shadowlands either. She seems very reluctant to recall what happened there."

Melina glanced at Lan En with her one eye, a knowing look on her face.

They all knew who Melina was referring to when she said "she".

After a moment of contemplation, the soul girl seemed to have made a decision.

Do you know why the Shadowlands have been largely forgotten by the Borderlands?

Melina suddenly asked, and Lan En naturally shook his head.

“That thing,” the soul girl raised her hand from under her cloak and pointed to the magnificent black tree on the distant horizon, “is a seal personally set by Queen Marika.”

Lan En followed Melina's finger and looked. To be precise, what she was pointing to was not the Shadow Tree, but those ethereal curtains floating in the sky.

“Shadowlands was once the center of the borderlands. The Shadow Tree is the shadow of the Golden Tree. The black and gold giants grow together, intertwined. The Golden Tree stands straight, while the Shadow Tree is twisted because it was once entwined around the Golden Tree.”

Melina said a few words, and Lan En was already working with Mentos in his mind.

'Retrieving the boundary map and aligning it with the Shadowlands information, please wait, sir.'

Mentos began to utilize computing power methodically.

"No need to be too precise," Lan En interjected, "just knowing the general location is enough."

The Witcher already knew about it and had seen a general map of the border region.

Because of the golden meteor that was cast down by an unparalleled will in ancient times, the boundary can be described as a typical impact crater and its surrounding landforms.

The only link between the Alpine Plateau and Nymgfu is the narrow strip of Lienia.

But normally, Lienia's terrain shouldn't be that narrow.

After analyzing the map, the Witcher and the Bio-AI both agreed that the golden meteor must have struck the side of Lienia, causing a large section of the terrain to sink and creating the area as it is today.

The side of Lienia became a semi-open inland sea.

To the north lies the Altan Plateau, to the south are Nymgf and Galid, to the west is Lienia, and to the east is the opening of the Inland Sea.

If, as Melina says, the Shadowlands originally had a specific location in the material world, and the Shadow Tree and the Golden Tree are intertwined, then it seems that only that semi-open inner sea is possible.

The golden meteor of supreme will did not completely sink the entire land; its arrival was probably relatively gentle.

However... how could such a region, which is the source of all life on earth and the landing point of the golden meteor, be so religiously significant, be sealed away by Marika so easily?

This is a bright, clear continent. After the land is gone, there is a whole inland sea. Who could not see it?
Even without Melina's emphasis, Lan En understood the significant impact this action would have on the border region.

Since Marika still did it, it further demonstrates that from her perspective, there were compelling reasons to do it.

“Go on,” Lann gestured for Melina to continue, “I’m listening.”

“As I said, she seems to be very resistant to memories of the Shadowlands, so even I don’t know much about it.”

Melina frowned, looking somewhat troubled.

“But based on what I know…” At this point, the soul girl looked at the witcher with a serious gaze, then suddenly changed the subject and asked, “In your opinion, it was ‘Queen Marika led her warriors to conquer the borderlands and eliminate many enemies of the Golden Law.’”

"Then he 'went to the Golden Tree to pay homage to the Dharma Ring, became a deity, and thus the Golden Dynasty was established,' right?"

(End of this chapter)