Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2059, Section 2031: People from the Border Region
"Ah ha." A muffled, dry laugh came from inside a knight's helmet as he turned to look at him. "For the sake of the Golden Tree... what's going on today? Is there anyone in this godforsaken place called Shadowlands who hasn't been here before who dares to show their face?"

But he was the only one who laughed; his two companions watched the scene in silence.

The mountain demon, who had been blocking their way and fulfilling his duty as a gatekeeper, stood up from his half-kneeling, bowed position and placed his right hand on the hilt of the giant sword hanging on his back.

This troll is different from the Nymgford troll that appeared during the siege of Rodel and pledged allegiance to Goughia.

The trolls of Nymgford joined Golfia primarily because the region ruled by this golden demigod was the last to resist during the War of the Giants.

It is one of the toughest challenges in the entire border region.

Gavya himself was not very strong, unlike his brother who could rule with overwhelming violence.

It was also inconvenient to send Rodel's forces to the frontier.

Therefore, during his reign, he could only relatively suppress the xenophobic aspects of the Golden Law and adopt a conciliatory approach towards the local powers and creatures.

Meanwhile, creatures like mountain demons, hybrids, and demi-humans, who faced discrimination and oppression elsewhere in the border region, naturally all came under the command of Gevya.

Even when he adopted a conciliatory stance, Gevya treated them at most as laborers and servants.

Forget about getting good equipment and good treatment.

However, the mountain demon in front of him still had no armor on his body, but he was properly wearing an exquisite full-face helmet on his head.

A large, dark blue silk cloak with a red background was also draped over his back.

Beyond the cloak was a greatsword perfectly proportioned to the mountain demon's physique; in fact, from Lan En's professional swordsman's perspective, even the hilt was probably adapted to fit the mountain demon's hand perfectly.

The mountain troll only had three pieces of equipment, but each one was exquisite, with patterns and decorations that were so elaborate they reached the level of Baroque aesthetics.

At the base of that greatsword, there was also a huge piece of diabase of exceptional quality.

Regardless of the circumstances, this is among the best equipment available even to serious knights.

The fact that the mountain demon was provided with such high-quality equipment, and that the red and blue color scheme and artistic style of the equipment looked familiar to Lan En, was striking.

Without a doubt, this was a troll knight from the royal family of Kalia.

Only the royal family of Caria, which allied with the trolls in ancient times, would bestow knighthood upon the trolls.

It's not surprising that there are troll knights from the Carian royal family in the Shadowlands, since Melina said that her brother, Messermo, married a member of the Carian royal family.

Reylana, the younger sister of Reylana, the Queen of the Full Moon, and the Knight of the Twin Moons.

The sisters' names are a bit of a mouthful when put together, but that's not the main issue; the main problem is their complicated family relationship, as usual.

Queen Marika's son, Messermo, married a sister from the Caria royal family, while [Redhead] Radagan married his sister.

This is all part of the alliance between the Gold and the Moon.

But then Rdagan became the "King's Consort," legally becoming Mesmer's father, while Rdagan is actually the same person as Marika... The relationships within the Golden Family are quite complicated.

The Knights of Caria were all elites, which is why they were able to withstand Radagan's conquest of Lienia during the War of the Giants despite being significantly outnumbered.

Now, this troll knight of the Kalia stands guard at the gates of Ensis, which means... the guardian of this city could very well be Leilana, who accompanied her husband on his expedition to the Shadowlands?
Melina's memories only show that Messermo and Lelana got married, but she doesn't know how they made strategic arrangements after entering the Shadowlands.

Lan En looked at the three human knights and one troll knight in front of him, carefully assessing their identities and mental state in his mind.

At the same time, the Qilin's pace remained unchanged, showing no sign of panic or apprehension.

Torret and Melina, on the other hand, fell behind.

In reality, the soul girl, who had only appeared in the border region for a few months, was not good at handling these matters.

It would be better to just let Lan En go.

"Hello, gentlemen."

The Witcher greeted him calmly.

Normally, when Lan En greets people, he does so with a natural warmth and sincerity. Even people who haven't seen his face will feel better just by hearing his greeting.

It's like seeing someone laugh and feeling a bit infected by it yourself.

But this time, he tried his best to keep his tone low and cautious. However, the three human knights and the troll knight, who were being greeted, couldn't help but pause in surprise.

It's as if such a normal way of greeting someone appearing in the Shadowlands is abnormal in itself.

"Hello?"

It was still Kalia's troll knight who responded stiffly to Lann's greeting with a complete set of etiquette that was completely out of character for his size.

"Who are you? The Holy War Army has never seen you in the Shadowlands."

The Troll Knight not only responded to the greeting but also raised a question. The time when the Shadowlands were not fully covered by the Golden Law predates the time when the laws of the Borderlands collapsed by an unknown amount of time.

In addition, this area was constantly under attack, so people couldn't die even if they wanted to. Over time, it became impossible for ordinary people to maintain even a clean appearance.

Those who haven't turned into shadows that survive being burned to nothingness are considered to be in a good situation.

And what about Lan En and the others now?

The Witcher's Smaug armor is wild and carries the malevolent aura of the Lonely Mountain dragon.

The Qilin was the most eye-catching, with its pure white silk rune cloth, the crystal-clear threads of which could even reflect light, not to mention the high-end horse tack on the outside of the rune cloth.

Margarita was passionate and alluring; the large expanse of skin exposed at her neckline was spotless, its snow-white and delicate skin enough to make any woman envious.

Even Melina, dressed in the simplest attire, showed no signs of battle, damage, or burning; her aloof face was clean and fair.

Beyond their clothing and outward appearance, their looks and demeanor were far from those of people who could remain unnoticed. Once these people appeared, it was impossible for them to go unnoticed, and once seen, they could not escape being drawn into the long-standing battles and conflicts within the Shadowlands.

They would inevitably bear the marks of battle.

There couldn't possibly be such a person in the Shadowlands now; the human knights and troll knights present could guarantee that.

Along the way, Lan En had already realized that in the Shadowlands, it was impossible for them to hide their identities.

So he never intended to hide it.

"We came here from the border region due to an accident. We have no idea where we are, and it took us a while to see this city. Could you please tell us something? If you cannot make a decision, could you introduce us to the city lord?"

Lan En spoke cautiously, as if he had already revealed their biggest secret.

However, he neither mentioned the current situation at the border nor Melina's identity.

But just the few words he uttered were enough to freeze the three humans and the mountain demon opposite him.

"From the border area...?"

In the tense atmosphere, one of the human knights was the first to speak.

His muffled voice carried a sense of bewilderment and helplessness, as if he were in a dream. When he uttered the word "borderland," it was filled with a melancholy and deep emotion, like someone caught in a midnight dream.

The mountain knight suddenly stood up, his enormous size moving through the air, and his sudden movement alone stirred up a gust of wind around him.

“I truly cannot make that decision, guests from…the borderlands.” The troll knight’s words were hesitant yet urgent. “Please follow me, and I will introduce you to my lord.”

The stumbling block was that when he mentioned the word 'borderland,' the intensity of his emotion was almost no different from that of a human knight.

Even though trolls are a discriminated-against race in the borderlands, he is, on one hand, a knight of the Kalia royal family, and no one in the Kalia royal family discriminates against trolls.

On the other hand, compared to the Shadowlands where a bunch of monsters were killing each other, let alone the level of discrimination in the Borderlands, even just recalling some of the sunlight and moonlight in the Borderlands was a kind of mental relaxation.

The mountain troll roared, and behind him, the iron gates of Ensis City were raised with the sound of winches turning.

Lan En and his group were led into it.

The Mountain Knight himself did not come along. After all, he was too big to guard the gate, and the various passages designed for humans in the city were not suitable for him at all.

And he was still preoccupied with the term 'borderland', staring blankly at the backs of Lan En and the others as they entered the city.

Seemingly thanks to the mountain demon's dazed state, the three human knights who had been blocked at the door and prevented from entering silently followed behind Lan En and the others.

The Witcher glanced back, but did nothing.

These three human knights, clad in full plate armor, were clearly more knightly than the warriors in the camps along the way.

His full suit of armor was black with gold trim, and the small shield on his chest bore the emblem of the Golden Law, indicating his allegiance.

However, the armor, which should have been imposing and stylish with its exquisite gold trim, had become dark and dirty due to the battle that had lasted for an unknown period of time.

Even specialized cleaning services probably can't remove it.

Two of the three knights were carrying very heavy hammers.

The great hammer was also black with gold trim, and the hammerhead alone was about the size of the upper body of these knights. Its shape resembled a large seal, and the pattern of the Golden Law was still on the flat surface of the 'seal'.

And this enormous hammer was only used with one hand.

In their other hand, they carried a large black iron shield that resembled half an archway.

The last knight held a double-headed sword with black iron blades on both sides and a gold hilt in the middle.

(End of this chapter)