Bear School Astartes

Chapter 194: 194. Longquan

As Lann entered the celestial sphere fissure under the smile of the Lady of the Lake, the sun was already blazing brightly as the afternoon approached.

But with one step, the world transformed. The young man looked up, trying to discern the sunlight through the lush leaves, but it seemed more like seven or eight o’clock in the morning.

The time shift between worlds is unpredictable, a topic that even the warlocks of Airetusa, who excel in the concepts of space and time, find too distant.

Their biggest achievement in the field of time and space so far is the lady’s handbag in Margaret’s possession.

Perhaps only when reaching the level where time can truly be stopped like Gant Odim can there be an understanding of this issue.

The place where Lann stood was a void mountain forest, primarily made up of bamboo.

A few steps to the side, one could see a path of stone stairs laid within the forest. This indicated the existence of intelligent creatures in this world, which was what the Lady of the Lake needed him to ’work’ for.

Lann didn’t know whether to be happy or frustrated. He picked up his supplies and only after witnessing the glass-like shattered image of the celestial sphere fissure disappear, did he walk towards the stone path.

Unlike situations without intelligent creatures, he only needed to do a survival stint within a limited range, as the beasts would not wander randomly.

However, the actions of intelligent creatures are unpredictable. Instead of passive contact, it’s better to take the initiative to explore.

It’s often said that mountains have different temperaments between countries, and Lann feels he has much to say on this topic.

Not only had he once traveled internationally, but now he was engaging in cross-world tourism.

According to Lann’s experiences, he generally felt that the mountains of Temeria, or those in Alia’s homeland, had a kind of somber, or grand religious quality.

Viewed from afar, those towering mountains and the shadows of the clouds above made people feel as if facing a chapel of nature.

While the mountains in his hometown world had a sense of desolate remoteness, where the clouds were deep and unknown.

As Lann slowly descended the stone path, the surrounding trees were mostly composed of bamboo.

The mountains here gave Lann the same sense as his home, yet with differences.

They were just as deep, but the mountains at home mostly gave a sense of peace and remoteness, whereas here they were... surreal, desolate.

The shadows in the flickering gaps between the bamboo seemed particularly gloomy.

Lann walked downhill for about ten more minutes, stopped, and slightly lifted his head.

”Uh... this is really...”

A slightly surprised expression appeared on his face. The man-made structure in front of Lann was composed of wood, looking like a solidly constructed wooden door frame, framing the small stone path.

In the widely spread Japanese culture, this door frame-like structure is called a ’torii’. It is a religious architectural piece in Shintoism separating the dwelling of deities and the human world.

Does this mean here is East Japan?

”This aligns with the temperament of these mountains, doesn’t it...”

As everyone knows, traditional Japanese aesthetics are characterized by mono no aware and melancholic beauty.

Lann observed the small torii for a moment, discovering that this wooden structure seemed aged, but only around a decade or so.

”A shrine built within the last decade?”

Lann dusted off his hands and continued to walk down the path.

After traveling around the magic world and Alia’s world, suddenly returning to the East Asian cultural sphere, Lann found himself somewhat unaccustomed.

”Mentos, can you handle Japanese?”

”Extracting relevant memory... Vocabulary exceeds the minimum standard, constructing skill... Skill construction complete — [Japanese], proficiency - 60%.”

With Mentos, Lann has photographic memory, and phrases skipped over in anime and movies now surged forth.

With 60% proficiency, although he might not be familiar with those verbose keigo variations in Japanese, normal communication should be no problem.

Gently covering his forehead, Lann’s fingers kneaded his temples.

The genetic seed not only slowly raised his physical fitness, but Lann’s brain endurance also improved with each session of [deep memory dive].

The improvement for the Interstellar Warrior is comprehensive.

So after just a few minutes, Lann’s expression returned to calm.

During this time, the young man’s pace did not stop. He followed the road down to the foot of the mountain.

The sound of the river’s rushing was no longer absorbed by the dense vegetation here, clearly reaching the demon hunter’s ears.

It was a river about thirty or forty meters wide, with a stone-built watering place set up along the riverbank.

A thick white rope was draped around the stone perimeter of this watering place, and though Lann didn’t quite understand, he assumed it to be some kind of religious tool as well.

A stone tablet stood beside the watering place, on which the kanji ’Longquan...’ was inscribed.

The words below were eroded by the river, making them hard to decipher. But Lann still made a guess based on the commonality of the East Asian cultural sphere.

”’Longquan’? So this is the Longquan River? No, according to the Japanese pronunciation... Longquanchuan? A common custom to venerate the river.”

”But... something about this feels off.”

There seemed to be a faintly unusual scent in the river water, which made the demon hunter subconsciously a bit concerned.

Lann rubbed the yangzi-inscribed stone tablet with one hand, mumbling softly.

The next moment, his free arm suddenly raised, protecting the side of his neck!

With a ”ding” sound of metal clashing, outside the thick gauntlet, an arrow had already broken into two under the impact, flying off.

At the same time, a chaotic shouting in Japanese came from the mountain forest not far from the watering place.

”Kill! Kill! He’s alone!”

”Muster your courage! All of you!”

The shouts sounded vicious and extremely noisy.

But Lann only slightly furrowed his brow, not looking flustered at all.

”Not taunts but cheering? And such disordered footsteps... are they farmers?”

Bandits or soldiers often use taunts to contemptuously insult their enemies while charging. It’s a method to psychologically assert dominance.

From this, one can tell they are accustomed to fighting.

But now the group rushing towards Lann, judging by the footsteps, consisted only of six or seven people. Moreover, their steps were chaotic, lacking even a basic formation.

They were undoubtedly amateurs.

Finally, this group dashed into Lann’s field of view.

To be honest, just these few paces at their charge had already left them panting.

This is a clear newbie symptom, where an overly excited mood causes a flood of stamina that makes their legs weak before cutting anyone.

Lann stood side-on at the same spot, watching them.

His face remained expressionless as he watched a group of poorly clothed men, around five feet tall, wielding machetes, sharp bamboo poles, and even wooden sticks, rush towards him wailing and barking.

Generally, due to overexcitement, their eyes were bloodshot, and the one leading was shouting the fiercest.

Watching their expressions, Lann could tell these people were simultaneously fearful and excited, unable to listen to anything.

With a light sigh, Lann effortlessly caught the sharp bamboo pole thrust by the leader as if catching chopsticks.

With a slight yank to the side, the sharp head slid past Lann’s waist.

The leader’s eyes shifted from excitement to terror.

He wanted to stop, withdraw the pole, and thrust again, but this series of actions, simple as they seemed, was too much to ask of an amateur charging with a pole.

He couldn’t halt his steps, and the two-meter bamboo pole swiftly slipped past Lann’s waist.

And he entered within Lann’s reachable range.

In a moment of epiphany, the leader lifted his head, realizing how towering the man before him was.

And then, a huge palm descending from the sky instantly blacked out his vision.