Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2081 2053. The Spark That Burns the Tree

"I suspect this matter concerns Lord Messermo?"

As the Witcher entered Lann's makeshift office, he gestured for the Twin Moon Knight to sit down and then asked a question.

Leilana neither sat down nor responded.

Beneath the exquisite silver helmet, all was silent.

Seeing this, Lan En, who was originally going to sit in the chair behind the desk, simply leaned half his buttocks against the desk and maintained the conversation in this posture.

“It seems I was right.” The Witcher smiled. “The Holy War Army is currently gathering at a fever pitch, which should be your busiest time. Yet you’ve come to this secluded place of mine with a heavy heart. This can only be related to Lord Messermo.”

After laughing, Lan En's expression turned serious as he looked at the Twin Moon Knights opposite him.

"What's wrong with him right now?"

Leilana gently stroked the luxurious blue shawl over her armor, and after a moment of silence, she spoke.

"Actually, we'd be better off discussing this at the Lauferg ruins. But right now, Gaius is leading a team to clear it out."

The Ruins of Laufer are a large ancient site located not far from Shadow City, and their construction seems to predate even the Horned People's civilization. Some sages within the Holy War Army believe it may be one of the initial origins of the Horned People's civilization.

Gaius, on the other hand, was a veteran of the Holy War Army. In terms of combat prowess, he was second only to Messermo himself.

However, in terms of his specific position, it is completely unworthy of his combat power.

Because this veteran is a son of platinum.

The children of platinum are a discriminated-against group, viewed as 'incomplete and abnormal lives'.

Furthermore, as one ages, one's legs will atrophy and disappear. Therefore, even within the Holy War Army, the veteran Gaius did not hold a high position.

Previously, he and his mount, the wild boar, were stationed outside the city on the other side of Shadow City to guard it, and they rarely even entered Shadow City.

It is worth mentioning, however, that Gaius once studied in Seria with the "Shattered Star General" Rataen, and both became disciples of the same "extraterrestrial being" White King, learning gravity magic.

They are fellow students.

Perhaps it was because of this relationship that he followed Rataen's aunt, Leilana, to join the Holy War Army and come to the Shadowlands.

"The Raufog ruins? We're in a race against time right now, why send troops to clear out that remote ruin?"

Having already figured out the structure of the Holy War Army and the surrounding geographical location during his free time over the past few days, Lan En easily understood Leilana's explanation and took the opportunity to ask further questions.

"Lord Messermo, are you connected to that ruin?"

Instead of immediately answering, Leilana changed the subject: "You heard him say before how the Spiral Tower was sealed into a shadow, right?"

Lan En nodded: "He said that he borrowed the power of the Shadow Tree's [Thorn of Rejection] when he attacked Shadowlands."

After saying that, the Witcher raised an eyebrow: "The ruins of Lauffergu, are they related to this?"

The Knight of the Twin Moons nodded heavily and wearily: "It's not just about that. The ritual was performed at the ruins of Lauferg."

"And now that you've borrowed the power of the Shadow Tree to seal the Spiral Tower, what do you think you need to do to free Enil Ilim from the shadows again?"

"Wait!" Hearing Leilana's words, Lan En couldn't help but purse his lips. "You mean...?"

Should we burn the Shadow Tree?!
"The sealed tree needs to be burned."

Lan En's thoughts and Leilana's words appeared almost simultaneously.

The Witcher's lips twitched slightly. Although Leilana's words were not exactly what he had thought, the matter was still the same.

...Should we say that Messermo and Melina are truly siblings? Their current goal has become burning trees?

During the Golden Age established by Queen Marika, the power of fire was considered taboo because it was incompatible with the Golden Tree.

Now, her children all want to burn the tree down.

Neither the golden trees nor the shadow trees, which originally grew in an intertwined manner, could escape.

“The Sealed Tree,” Leilana continued, “is the ‘wedge’ that was formed after Messermo activated the power of the Shadow Tree. It anchored the power of those Rejection Spikes, allowing this power to continuously seal the Spiral Tower.”

"To unlock the Spiral Tower, you must first burn it down."

“Burn it…tsk tsk.” Lan En rubbed his forehead and clicked his tongue in amazement. “So, how do we do this? Is there some extinguished cauldron in Shadowlands that we need to rekindle the flames of, or get some kind of fire?”

Naturally, Lan En matched Melina's instructions on how to burn the Golden Tree with the current situation.

But the next moment, when Leilana's words reached Lann's ears, the Witcher froze.

"The spark... is himself, Lann." The Twin Moon Knight repeated it again, heavily but clearly, "The spark is the Messermo Fire within Messermo himself, Lann!"

"That's why he was so cautious about going to the Azure Coast with you. He needed to see evidence of Michaela's plan with his own eyes before he could make up his mind to stop him at such a high price!" "Because just taking the first step to stop Michaela... he would have to pay with his life!"

"Messermo's Fire?" Lann asked, his movements slightly stiff. "Those that he casually flicked out... aren't they good enough?"

“Those powers aren’t strong enough,” Leilana shook her head. “He can even freely distribute those Messermo Fires to everyone in the Holy War Army. However, whether one can use them effectively depends on their individual skill. Only the fire deep within his life, the fire that is connected to the essence of his existence, has the power to burn down the Sealed Tree.”

This kind of 'burning' is different from the usual burning of wood by fire.

The wood will produce more and fiercer flames when it burns. However, both the Golden Tree and the Sealed Tree, which serves as the anchor point for the Shadow Tree's power, possess their own defensive capabilities.

When the golden tree is near death, it releases golden seeds outwards, and when faced with danger, it uses its repellent thorns to prevent anything from entering the tree.

The Shadow Tree is quite similar to the Golden Tree; when faced with flames, they first use their defensive powers to resist them.

Inadequate flames could not even scorch them, nor could they diminish their defensive power. Only powerful flames were qualified to clash with the power of the Golden Tree and the Shadow Tree.

And only after the hedging is successful can the burning of the tree itself begin. And only at this stage will the subsequent flames burn ever brighter.

Otherwise, it's just a waste of your own energy.

What Messermo is about to do is use his essential fire to consume and burn the sealed tree.

He'll be worn down to death!

It's like a flame that has burned out and is gradually going out to ashes.

The spark...

Thinking of this, the Witcher frowned.

"You've come to me to tell me this, is there something you expect from me, Ms. Lelana?"

The Twin Moon Knight lowered her head. The female knight, who always exuded royal elegance in every move, now appeared embarrassed and helpless.

“I cannot and should not dissuade Messermo from completing his mission,” she said. “But I have heard about your experiences on the Blue Coast, and I think perhaps your magical methods can… at least offer some help?”

"I'm sorry, I'm just... just so confused."

“No, no need to apologize, madam. On the contrary, I should be thanking you.” Lan En rose from his half-sitting desk and strode towards the door. “Your story has perhaps helped me understand something. Please don’t worry. I think we will find a way.”

"Wait, what?"

Lelana stared blankly as Lann hurried past her, the Witcher speaking as fast as he walked.

Before the Twin Moon Knights could react, Lann had already strode out of the small office and headed towards the species preservation vault outside.

The Shadowlands are fraught with danger, and when the Holy War Army invaded, it was a scene of chaos, with killing and resentment everywhere.

Therefore, even within Shadow City, the main city completely controlled by the Holy War Army, everyone from soldiers to city lords and generals wears armor and weapons on a daily basis.

When Lann performed surgery on those sorcerers, he wasn't wearing light clothing, but rather still wearing Smaug's armor.

At this moment, his firm footsteps walked between bookshelves, past piles of recording tablets, and huge specimens of long-horned creatures.

The footsteps were particularly noticeable in the species repository, where few people had come after the Holy War Army had assembled its legions.

"What are you looking for?"

Three tiers above her head, Margarita peered out and asked, holding a thick book in her hand.

When she was talking about what she planned to do in the next few days, although it was somewhat flirtatious with her lover, she was indeed a mage with enough curiosity and a spirit of inquiry.

Without these qualities, even the greatest talent cannot make a name for oneself in the history of Aretusa Academy.

All I can say is that Margarita is very good at balancing her magical research with her daily life of luxury and pleasure.

“Melina,” Lann looked up at her and asked, “have you seen where she went?”

The Witcher was currently twitching his nostrils, trying to detect Melina's pheromones in the air, but it would be much faster to find out her whereabouts directly from witnesses than to search for her himself.

Margarita was currently focused on serious research and maintaining her curiosity about the history and knowledge of the border region, so she didn't respond to Lan Enlai's smooth-talking flirtations.

Instead, it simply and directly pointed out the direction.

“I saw her go to the lower level on the other side of the castle earlier. She took the elevator in the species preservation vault. Why don’t you go look for her over there?”

"understood."

After responding, Lan En also walked towards the elevator in the species preservation vault.

(End of this chapter)