Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 2083-2055. Dispute
“You... you know,” Melina said softly. “When?”

“Not long ago,” Lann replied, “Ms. Leilana came to me and told me that if Messermo wanted to unseal the Spire, he would have to risk his life. She’s completely panicked now.”

"So naturally, I thought: if burning a sealed tree has to come at this price, then what about burning the golden tree?"

Lan En stared at Melina's right eye: "It can't be that everything prepared to burn down the Golden Tree was actually already prepared in that cauldron of flames, just waiting for someone to go and light it, right?"

"And you already knew that Messermo would have to pay with his life to burn down the Sealed Tree, right? Otherwise, you shouldn't have given me this golden braid. You should have given it to Messermo, who was more likely to defeat Michaela."

In this war to stop Michaela, the one who can truly be called the most powerful fighter is actually this "Piercer".

Queen Marika's braids can suppress powerful golden energy when it gets close. Giving them to Messermo is the safest option.

But clearly, Melina never thought about this. By bringing Lann to this place, she was already tacitly acknowledging that 'Messermo wouldn't even be able to climb the Spiral Tower.'

“You said before, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll prepare the fire.’” The Witcher tilted his head. “Is that fire you yourself?”

Melina lowered her head, glanced at the shaman statue in the tree hollow, and whispered, "This is my mission, an inescapable mission that I don't want to shirk... Let's go, at least let's not talk here."

But this time, the Witcher did not comply with Melina.

“Why can’t we talk here?” Lann looked at the big tree and the small section of a house chimney peeking out from the side of the hillside. “This is Queen Marika, your and Messermo’s homeland. Do you really think your self-sacrifice is only related to yourself?”

Surrounded by tranquil and warm gold, the Queen's homeland, for the first time since Queen Marika's departure, has been filled with the sounds of conversation.

But it was the sound of some conversations and arguments.

Seemingly sensing Lann's persistence, Melina also stopped trying to turn around and leave on the small hill.

Instead, they stopped and faced the Witcher.

“I wish the world could always be as beautiful as it is here. But now, everything outside of here is collapsing.”

Standing on the hillside, you can take in the entire village. The scene of blooming flowers and golden sunlight is almost like a different world from the shadowy place outside.

Melina's voice remained steady, yet tinged with emotion.

"I want to tell you something, Lann."

“Although my mission was given to me by my mother, now, fulfilling that mission is my own will, and has nothing to do with my mother’s expectations. I am acting to make the world the way I hope it will be—it is my heart that wants to do so.”

Melina raised her eyes, her golden pupil in her right eye fixed on Lan En, as if reiterating her serious attitude.

"I will never allow anyone to trample on this sentiment... not even you!"

Lan En frowned as he looked at the other person.

“I’m not trying to be your enemy, Melina.” He shook his head, choosing not to escalate the conflict despite being the one who started it. “I just want to confirm that we haven’t explored other methods yet, and perhaps burning the Golden Tree wouldn’t have to come at such a high price.”

But it would have been better if she hadn't said anything. As soon as Lan En mentioned "other methods," Melina's expression became even more serious.

"Has anyone contacted you?" Even her usually calm and clear tone unconsciously quickened. "Who told you there were other ways?!"

"Nobody contacted me. We spent most of our time together, remember?"

Lan En keenly sensed that Melina seemed unusually wary of this topic, to the point of being easily provoked.

She did seem to know an 'other way' to ignite the golden tree, but in her eyes, this method was completely out of the question, and shouldn't even exist.

However, Lan En didn't care much after realizing this. In any case, no matter what method Melina had hidden to burn the Golden Tree, he had his own way of doing it.

【Combat Skill - Ember】.

A combat technique acquired through the Spiral Sword in [Turbid Stream - Annihilation]. It can ignite the faint remaining sparks from the [Primordial Fire] that have burned in the World of Flames.

When Lan En entered the Rodel Palace and reached the foot of the Golden Tree based on his battle merits, he roughly sensed that the "Emerging Flame," which possessed a slight "Primordial Flame" quality, was actually enough to scorch the Golden Tree.

It's just that the power of the Golden Tree is too strong, while the power of the [Ember] is too weak, making it impossible for it to actually burn in a real-world scenario.

However, in any case, [Ember] is undoubtedly a viable alternative for burning down the Golden Tree.

Once Lann figured out that burning the Golden Tree required Melina herself to enter the cauldron of flames as the source of the fire, this alternative plan almost immediately became the only option.

The power of [Ember] is not strong enough, but he still has the coordinates of the Flame World in his possession.

As long as we can still enter that decaying world, the original world of the [Primordial Flame], we can always find some way to enhance the [Ember Flame].

“No one told me any other way to burn the Golden Tree, but I have my own method!” To calm Melina’s sudden wariness, Lann patiently and sincerely repeated himself.

"Since I have other methods, why can't we openly discuss the feasibility of various methods? Why do you insist on jumping into that fiery cauldron on the snow-capped mountain?"

Melina looked at the Witcher, but her slender hand rose from under her cloak and lightly tapped her head.

“I inherited most of Queen Marika’s memories, my mother, Lann. Do you think there’s much more she, as the only god in the entire world, doesn’t know?”

"Since we met, I have answered your questions about all the strange things you have encountered. Lan En, have I ever missed a single one, or been ignorant of anything?"

Marika's knowledge and insights were used by Melina to help the Witcher answer questions during their previous journey.

But it was precisely this comprehensive and profound insight and knowledge that made Melina convinced that the path she saw was the only viable one.

A gentle breeze blows, causing the flowers and plants in this hidden village to sway gracefully, and even the leaves of the trees at the top of the hillside to rustle.

The girl brushed her light reddish-brown hair aside and looked intently and persistently at the witcher opposite her.

No one in the world knew better than her how to burn the golden tree.

After all, her mother, Queen Marika, had been planning this for an unknown period of time.

At this point, Lan En also fully understood that Melina's insistence on her own opinion stemmed from the extensive knowledge she gained from Queen Marika's memories.

He then realized something: to change the girl's mind, he needed to present some impactful facts.

"Sigh~"

The Witcher reached for the alchemical leather pouch at his lower back, and a soft, rhythmic sound of metal rubbing against the leather opening emanated from it.

Behind his imposing body, clad in bone-white armor, a broad and unassuming black sword was slowly drawn.

This sword is so simple that it has no embellishments, and even its lines are straight and orderly.

But inexplicably, as soon as the sword was exposed to the air, a fierce and hungry aura immediately filled the entire space.

Just standing around you gives you the feeling that there is some kind of wild beast behind you, with its rough and brutal fangs pressed against your skin and starting to bite down hard!
"Boom~"

After Lan En completely drew out the [Turbid Stream - Annihilation] sword, the heavy tip of the sword gently touched the ground under his inverted grip.

Melina looked at the sword in front of Lan En, puzzled.

She had seen Lan En use it before and felt that it was indeed a powerful weapon worthy of becoming a legend, yet previously unknown.

But she didn't know what Lan En was going to do by drawing that sword at this moment.
Burning the Golden Tree, that great tree rooted in the very rules of the world... this is not something that can be accomplished with a sword.

But under her questioning gaze, Lan En remained calm.

"You think that by using Queen Marika's memories, you already know everything about this world?"

"So you think that only the information in your memory is credible and accurate, and only the plans derived from this information are feasible."

“But I think,” Lan En said, one hand resting on the greatsword stuck in the ground, looking at the girl, “you should take a look at this first.”

As he spoke, the Witcher suddenly tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword!

The leather palms of the armor and the anti-slip Nergigante hide wrapped around the hilt of the [Turbid Stream - Annihilation] sword burst into a squeezing and rubbing sound in an instant!
But at least that was just the sound of leather rubbing together. What followed... was the sound of steel cracking!

"Kalala~!"

It was as if Lan En's grip had squeezed it so hard that it cracked!
The heavy metal greatsword began to crack and spread like a spiderweb from the point of the Witcher's grip.

And deep within those hideous and terrifying cracks and crevices, a deep flame shone out, like magma flowing quietly beneath the rocks.

Along with it comes the undeniable heat.

The tip of the greatsword was originally touching the flower-covered ground, but in that instant, a circle of flowers and grass centered on the tip of the sword turned yellowish-brown, and then blackened.

The sudden heat wave caused Melina's light reddish-brown hair to blow backward.

The girl's right eye was filled with confusion.

She was no stranger to the power of fire. Although it was a taboo subject of the Golden Dynasty, Queen Marika had witnessed countless instances of the power of fire.

What puzzled Melina was not the flames and heat, but the...essence of these flames!
(End of this chapter)