Bear School Astartes

Chapter 8: 8. An Unsurprising Choice

Make your choice, teacher.

The charge and thrust of the long halberd cannot be blocked by armor, not even by high-grade school armor.

Even brushing the blade of the long halberd with a gauntlet to change its direction won’t work.

It’s already too close.

The blade aimed at the torso, what difference does it make if it’s slightly off?

The blade of the long halberd is wide and sharp, any cut on the torso will affect at least two organs.

Heart, liver, spleen, lungs, kidneys, inevitably damaged.

You must use your sword to stop the thrust.

But in doing so, you can’t protect the alchemy bags.

The magic potions, alchemy bombs inside are your only hope to survive the coming conflict.

Two shooters, a troublesome soldier with a long weapon, and one of your students—a Demon Hunter...

Unless you crush them with drug-enhanced physical strength or use expensive bombs, you stand no chance.

Lann left traces along the way that could be tracked by an enforcement squad, drawing them in.

Since the battle started, three volleys have been fired, totaling about twenty seconds.

But Lann has already been able to blockade Bordeaux according to the shift in battle.

Take a closer look, in the cat-like eyes of that young man, calculations and potential scenarios are cascading down like a waterfall from his pupils.

Lann temporarily stopped investing computational resources into the analysis and applied all of his brain cells’ potential to the current scene.

His biological brain indeed met the plan’s target.

No matter the choice, Bordeaux has no chance.

He will die today.

Bordeaux himself soon realized this truth.

His magnificent physique stiffened.

Most Bear School Demon Hunters have lost the ability to feel emotions, spending their mutated lives solely maintaining their existence.

In past missions, Bordeaux has faced death head-on, more than once.

But he could always discern a hope for survival with his calm mind, hauling the monster’s head to earn his reward.

Yet in this scenario constructed from human intelligence and murderous intent, with death looming from both sides, his cold nature left him helpless.

Making matters worse, Lann’s hand now bursts forth with the glow of magic!

Yakxi Rune!

It was a technique Bordeaux used only in front of Lann, never seriously taught even once.

He never imagined the opponent had already reached a level where it could be practically applied.

The strong Demon Hunter’s mind suddenly clouded, and even more terrifying—his confusion was amplified.

Facing the reality of no survival, even the impulse to take an enemy with him in death was disappearing.

Because he couldn’t feel hate.

Even his survival instinct was suppressed for a moment, and in that very instant...

”Squelch-”

Finally, the long halberd, redirected by Lann, plunged into Bordeaux’s abdomen.

Scarlet fluid splattered out.

As for Lann himself, he darted from under the Bear School Steel Sword to his mentor’s side, and the dagger cut the strap of the alchemy bags like lightning.

With a reach of his hand, he secured them to his chest.

Bordeaux’s last hope for a comeback was eliminated.

At the moment the sharp blade penetrated the body, even with the Demon Hunter’s physique, the sense of powerlessness swept through Bordeaux’s entire body instantly.

He was pushed back several steps by the Long Halberd Soldier until he hit a tree and stopped, then his legs went soft and he collapsed on the ground.

The nervous Long Halberd Soldier hadn’t realized what happened, still gritting his teeth and pushing forward with the weapon.

Until Lann walked beside him with the alchemy bags, placing his palm over the hand grasping the weapon’s shaft.

”Calm down, mate. It’s over.”

Only then did he cry out as if awakening from a dream, beginning to pant heavily.

This process was already longer than the entire battle just now.

The two shooters also came down from the distant high ground hill, the crossbowman did not release the bowstring, and the arrowhead gleamed as it pointed at Lann.

The longbowman immediately ran to check on the sword and shield soldier who had fallen on the ground, the screams had ceased.

In the questioning eyes of the Long Halberd Soldier and Crossbowman, he fiddled with their captain’s eyelids and pulse, then shook his head.

Lann was not surprised by this; given the amount of blood lost, even a mage wouldn’t be able to save them.

”Freaking mutant monstrosity!”

The Long Halberd Soldier spat and cursed quietly.

The Velen People are accustomed to death; professional soldiers even more so, therefore aside from venting their fear of magic and mutants, there was little else to say.

The Long Halberd Soldier stepped forward two steps in his boots, ready to draw back the halberd impaled in Bordeaux’s belly.

Maybe because of the extraordinary survivability of Demon Hunters, this bearish man wasn’t dead, merely sitting quietly.

A pair of cat-like eyes stared at his student.

But if the halberd is pulled out, the heavy bleeding surely wouldn’t let him live for another minute.

Lann met his gaze without flinching, raising his hand to stop the nearby Long Halberd Soldier from retracting the weapon.

The remaining three soldiers immediately tensed up as though their fur had been bristled.

The crossbowman steadied his crossbow arrow, and the longbowman immediately drew his bow, aiming at Lann.

They had just witnessed the abilities of a Demon Hunter, real magic, and the price paid in blood and life.

And Lann, just happened to have a pair of cat-like eyes.

It was hard not to make them nervous.

The alliance with Lann happened very abruptly.

”What are you trying to do? Freak! Are you looking to die!?”

The crossbowman cursed fiercely, and Lann could see his finger trembling on the trigger.

The long halberd soldiers and longbowmen were the same, their expressions angry, yet they all swallowed nervously.

Lann stood sideways, quietly turning his head to look at them, until their breathing calmed.

After a long silence, Lann spoke calmly.

”I only have a small knife, gentlemen. And you have two arrows on the strings.”

The three men calmed down a bit after these words.

Perhaps it was not the words that calmed them, but their advantageous position.

But Lann’s next words, spoken with a tilt of the head, made the atmosphere sharply change.

”But can two arrows really take me down?”

”Try it then! Freak! Quickly make a move and let me see!”

Facing the spit-spewing crossbowman, Lann remained expressionless.

This only made the other appear even more cowardly.

”Gentlemen, you have just witnessed the survival and killing capabilities of a Demon Hunter. And you, there’s a long halberd soldier with no weapon, two with only a one-handed sword, standing within five steps of me. If I decide to strike, you won’t hold out for ten seconds.”

In fact, they could hold on for at least a minute, as Lann was nowhere near his teacher’s level in physical fitness, equipment quality, or Swordsmanship skill.

But Bordeaux’s intimidation was so great, it had them temporarily in disarray.

”We-we still have two arrows!”

”Yes, two arrows.” Lann maintained his sideward stance and nodded.

”But if you want to kill me within ten seconds, you have to hit my heart or my head.”

As Lann spoke calmly, the three men’s eyes moved to those two parts.

But soon, the two shooters’ expressions became ugly.

They were seasoned soldiers; they knew the current situation.

”Yes, gentlemen. I am standing sideways, so if you want to aim for the heart, the arrow must go through the arm, through three layers of cotton armor, a layer of skin, ribs, and a pair of lungs... It won’t pierce through. Then I would have time to kill all of you after being shot, so you can only aim for the head.”

”And if the target is limited to that small point, even with a small knife, I am confident I can deflect two arrows.”

The young man lifted the arm holding the hunting knife to his side face, making the implication clear.

——The heart’s position is left to you, whether to shoot the crossbow arrow is your choice. But the consequences of those two arrows, I have clearly stated.

The words stopped, and the three Temerian Soldiers clenched their jaws.

The young man’s expression remained calm, as if the dreadful hypothesis about ”death” applied to himself did not exist.

He suddenly smiled lightly.

”So, there is no need to let things develop to that point, right? I just want to say a few words to my kindred. He can’t be saved; it’s obvious. Even if a priest from Meretelli were present, he couldn’t be saved, could he? During this time, you can arrange the corpse of this respectable soldier, and by the time he has mostly passed, you can carry their bodies to the lord’s castle to claim the bounty. We’ve seen enough blood today.”

The positions did not change, but the atmosphere began to relax.

Perhaps it was because of Lann’s smile, or perhaps because of the money Lann mentioned.

The longbowman’s lips twitched, hesitantly opening.

”Aren’t you coming with us? The lord has offered three hundred and sixty Oren for this murderer, that’s...”

”That is indeed a lot of money.” Lann interrupted him, nodding.

”But gentlemen, to be honest, I owe you a debt of gratitude, to your whole squad.”

”Although we are still facing each other with blades exposed, the fact is: you rescued me from my teacher’s grip, and a respectable soldier died because of it.”

”We have all witnessed how strong my teacher is; I had absolutely no hope of escaping alone from his grasp.”

”You were sent by the lord as a law enforcement team; capturing him was your duty, no doubt. But life is precious; whether it’s your duty or not, I bear the gratitude for saving my life and must respond. Especially since someone died, I won’t take a single Oren of the reward.”

The honest words made the atmosphere even more relaxed, and both shooters lowered their arrows slightly. In response, Lann also turned around to face them directly.

”People say Demon Hunters with snake eyes are as emotionless as snakes, it seems they were purely slandering.”

The longbowman returned the arrows to his quiver, nodding at the young man.

The crossbowman also withdrew his bolt.

”We appreciate your sincerity, but Captain Barun is a widower; the reward you relinquished won’t benefit his family... Honestly, you should reconsider.”

”Leave it be, gentlemen.” Lann smiled and shook his head, sheathing his dagger.

”This is what I owe you, if this soldier doesn’t have a family, then please use the reward for a decent funeral for him. For I believe my life is worth more than three hundred Oren.”

Lann would look down on himself if he didn’t repay the debt of saving his life.

The three exchanged glances, finally nodding at the young man, leaving the space to the two Demon Hunters.

At this moment, Bordeaux’s bushy beard was already covered with pink bubbles of blood from his mouth, the color of blood in the alveoli.

He was still looking at his student.

And Lann, was gazing down at him, slowly squatting down.

”Now we can have a proper talk... Teacher.”

There was no need to hide any longer, no need to make himself an iceberg any longer.

Lann smiled in relief and liberation.