Bear School Astartes

Chapter 408: 408. Cane and Pistol

Lann’s mouth twitched slightly.

”Could you please get down from the railing first?”

Margaret’s face was also tinged with blush.

”Who knew... It’s a pity, I’ve never tried comforting each other in the sea breeze.”

Was it the Demon Hunter’s hormone system malfunctioning or the Female Warlock’s hormones acting up?

Lann was a bit speechless.

”Alright, gifts, gifts... What is this?”

The interruption left Margaret a little disheartened.

She looked at the two items in Lann’s hand, one was a staff with a simple and elegant design.

The other appeared to be... a mixture of wood and steel tubes?

Margaret had never seen firearms; she couldn’t gather any information just from the appearance.

”Two exotic weapons from another world, I feel they might suit a Female Warlock well.”

Saying that, Lann gave a teasing smile.

”Especially those who get ambushed by slingshots, non-combat-specialized Female Warlocks.”

”Haha, you’re quite humorous.” Margaret feigned a laugh, lacking genuine amusement.

”Try this one first, the threaded staff.”

Lann handed the staff over to Margaret, who accepted it with one hand.

Initially, she was a bit indifferent, but as she gripped the staff, she felt a sudden heaviness.

She had to exert considerable effort to hold it single-handedly.

The physical abilities of Female Warlocks might not be as renowned as Knights or Demon Hunters, but their bodies, modified by chaotic energy, were stronger than ordinary humans.

Take Margaret, for example, her arm strength and endurance were probably superior to an average adult man’s.

In a world without magic, sports need gender divisions; cross-division competitions are usually a one-sided crush.

But in this world, men and women don’t believe they’re more likely to win just because the opponent is of a different gender.

”Is this... purely steel?”

Surprised, Margaret twisted her wrist.

”Hitting someone with this must hurt terribly; even a normal half-sword doesn’t feel as solid as this!”

Blades, after all, have thin designs, while the staff, although pointed, resembles more of a steel rod.

”But I’m not skilled in swordsmanship.”

After playing with it for a while, Margaret started to dismiss it.

Staffs as weapons were invented in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries when urbanization made people want personal defense weapons with an aesthetic touch.

But in a world of magic, there were plenty of people in the cities with longswords hanging at their waists.

The staff didn’t offer much advantage.

Lann, of course, knew this.

”It’s not meant to be used like that.”

Taking back the threaded staff, Lann briefly recalled the technique of the mad Hunter he fought before.

Then, in Margaret’s astonished gaze, a ”click” sound was heard with a crisp mechanical movement, followed by sparks.

Lann held the grip of the threaded staff in reverse, and its body transformed into a jagged steel longsword of twenty-one sections!

The sharp edges of the metal plates made one’s teeth chatter.

If struck onto a creature of flesh, then yanked fiercely!

It might rip off kilograms of blood and chunks of flesh, perhaps?

Lann imitated the crazed Hunter’s technique he once saw; even though he had never used such a flail, his supreme control over his muscles and keen observation allowed him to mimic a few tricks after seeing it once.

The metallic whip emitted a sharp whine, as the jagged, interlocking metal plates scraped over the marble railing of the terrace.

In the burst of the cracking sound, a finger-width, three-millimeter deep scratch was left on the marble surface.

Stone dust and fragments wafted off in the sea breeze.

The Female Warlock covered her mouth, watching this intricately mechanical weapon in astonishment.

In this world, perhaps only the gnomes in the mountains could craft such technology.

And every one of their creations, without exaggeration, to a Female Warlock, was deemed valuable and rare.

Lann transformed the metal whip back into a threaded staff with a ”click” and handed it to Margaret.

And this time, the Female Warlock was reluctant to part with it.

”You could cast an illusion technique on it, turning it into a harmless, adorable Magic Staff. Even if fellow Warlocks see through the illusion, they’ll only see an untransformed, ordinary staff.”

Lann crossed his arms, offering his tactical advice.

”Trust me, once a typical Warlock sees through the first layer of illusion, their guard will drop by eighty percent. Then you can whip them firmly with it.”

”No Warlock without protective spells could survive being struck by it!” Margaret carefully probed the transforming mechanism on the staff and made a judgment.

”No human could endure a whole bout of being struck by it; one, maybe two strikes at most, and this whip would rip off kilograms of flesh and blood... This wasn’t designed to deal with humans, was it?”

”Correct, warriors from another world used it against monsters, all the while maintaining their flair.”

Lann reminisced about the crazed Hunter; his outfit was indeed stylish.

”What, does using such a weapon give you psychological pressure?”

”Pressure?” Margaret quizzically looked at Lann. She finally figured out the transformation mechanism of the threaded staff, switching it repeatedly between ’whip-staff’ forms in her hand.

”I’ve had my calves sliced off by the Cannibal Race and watched them eat it right in front of me, my dear...”

”I know what mankind can become when dominated by malevolence.”

Margaret’s straightforwardness and psychological resilience earned Lann’s admiration.

The two of them had fought their way out together from that Cannibal-infested beach; he felt this woman was becoming more to his liking.

As they were speaking, Margaret had already cast the illusion technique on the threaded staff.

The handle was transformed by her into a large golden rose bordered with silver threads, turning the previously stark design of the Hunter’s weapon into something lavish and vibrant.

Very much in the Female Warlock’s opulent style.

”The other item is much simpler in terms of usage.”

Lann took out the Hunter’s Pistol, demonstrating the steps of loading, aiming, and firing for Margaret, after which the Female Warlock had a basic grasp of its operation.

The advantage of firearms over melee weapons is partially in their low threshold for skill.

”Using gunpowder to fire a crossbow arrow? That’s a brilliant idea. There’s no need to draw the string at the last moment; you can just pull it out and shoot whenever.”

Margaret commented while holding the Hunter’s Pistol.

For a Female Warlock, the pistol’s advantage was indeed in its readiness for immediate use.

Whether a bow or crossbow, leaving the bowstring on the bow is considered weapon degradation. To use bows or crossbows reliably, you must allocate time to string the bow and notch the arrow in advance before battle.

With the Hunter’s Pistol, there was no such concern.

This could prove vital in unexpected situations, which Warlocks fear the most.

And compared to the enhanced power it had over a crossbow arrow... On the whole, neither bullets nor crossbow arrows could rival the destructive power of a single Female Warlock’s fireball spell.