Bear School Astartes

King Ausloes, the king who has long ruled Losric and become the leader of this dominant country in the era of the Fire Apocalypse.

Lann had heard a lot about this king.

In the general impression, this king is simply wise and brave, a daring hero of his generation.

But the problem is, this wise and brave king seems never to exist anywhere but in ’hearsay’.

The name of King Ausloes made Lann, who was standing quietly in the distance, listen even more attentively.

In the confrontation, the Knight Captain of Losric did indeed lower his voice and spoke with hatred.

”His Majesty refuses to see people and locks himself in the courtyard doing research... You know this, Brother Maruk!”

”Yes, I know.” Knight Captain Maruk, clad in blue armor, said calmly, ”So I also know that you don’t have His Majesty’s orders at all.”

”And without direct orders from His Majesty, making changes to the Prince’s orders is rebellion!”

”Now it seems, your knightly spirit has fallen to this level, Captain.”

”Our knightly spirit is to serve Losric and maintain the Fire Transmission!” The Knight Captain stepped forward excitedly, his armor clinking.

On his hand was a ring identical in shape to Priestess Emma’s ring, except the ring bore the pattern of a knight’s white side silhouette.

”Right now, there’s a conspiracy trying to target Losric amidst the deadlock of the Fire Transmission Ceremony. Is your knightly spirit to stand by and do nothing?”

”Alarmist talk.” Knight Captain Maruk denied coldly.

In his view, this seemed to be merely a ’manufactured crisis’ devised by the captain and the priestess to advance the Fire Transmission Ceremony.

”Faced with evidence, you can say ’alarmist talk’ later.”

Lorenzo stepped out from behind the captain. He had a high seniority in the Losric Knight Order and was in the top tier of combat strength.

Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to wield that Losric Knight’s Greatsword in his hand.

This kind of greatsword, which requires both outstanding strength and agility, is not equipment that anyone can be assigned to use.

Thus, knights capable of wielding such a greatsword inherently have a certain degree of voice within the knight order.

Lorenzo first handed the Dragon Pattern Shield from his back to Knight Captain Maruk, then walked toward Lann.

He narrated the riots on the bridge as he walked, and when he reached Lann, he patted him.

Lann also timely testified, confirming Lorenzo’s statements accurately.

”There are both witnesses and material evidence, and I have even sent dozens of Dragon Pattern Shields to the knight order’s Dragon Training Ground.”

Lorenzo stood beside Lann, facing Maruk.

”Even if it’s false evidence, do you think I can produce dozens of Dragon Pattern Shields? Do I have that capability?”

”Who has the capability to produce such shields, I believe you know very well. After all, you’ve recently often represented the Prince at the Great Library of the sages, haven’t you?”

Knight Captain Maruk fell silent for a moment.

”That was the Prince consulting the sages... Alright, I will return to the Dragon Training Ground to inspect those pieces of evidence, also organize this witness’s testimony, and submit it to His Highness the Prince.”

”Let’s end it here for today.” He waved his blue cloak with gold patterns and left alone without saluting the two higher-ranking individuals present.

In an ordinary and strict knight order, merely this action would be enough to be accused of ’contempt for the superior’.

It seems the internal division within the knight order is now so apparent that they don’t even want to pretend.

Lann watched Knight Captain Maruk’s exit, he walked directly toward a tower by the high wall, disappearing into the shadow.

Maruk, representing at least half the power of the Losric Knight Order, left unhappily.

This kind of scene seems to have happened quite a few times during this dim flame era.

So much so that the Knight Captain only sighed under his helmet without displaying anger.

Instead, Priestess Emma...

Through his silver hair hanging by his eyes, Lann looked at this aging clerical figure, and felt more of a sense of resolution in her at this moment.

”Lorenzo.”

Priestess Emma suddenly called loudly to the Knight Captain.

”I’m here, ma’am.”

”Take our witness down for some rest, he must be very tired from the long journey and having gone through the riots, especially in this difficult time of dim flames. Don’t neglect someone helping us as a witness, go handle it.”

Priestess Emma spoke, asking Lorenzo to arrange for Lann’s needs.

But in the Demon Hunter’s view, both the stationary priestess and Knight Captain seemed more as if they wanted to discuss something that couldn’t be overheard, thus clearing the field.

So Lann smiled at Lorenzo while pacing slowly, chatting to him about trivial matters within the city.

And the Demon Hunter’s senses began to amplify in this process.

He successfully overheard the conversation between the Knight Captain and the priestess.

”...We can’t delay any longer, this is my thought.”

”But executing this... dangerous thought requires strength. Priestess Emma.”

In judging the priestess’s words, the Knight Captain evidently underwent a mental struggle before he hesitantly spoke out.

”One-third of my Knight Order has been decimated by the Curse of the Undead. The weakening of our forces is unprecedented since the establishment of the Losric Knight Order!”

”But I and my clergy will fully support you.”

”Yet the Sages will also fully support the other faction within the Knight Order, won’t they?”

The Knight Captain and Priestess began consolidating the power under their control for the execution of their plan.

However, it’s evident that the situation is grim.

”The Sages have obtained the Great Library from His Majesty. Due to their rapidly expanding power, we can mutually entrust trust. Priestess Emma, if I may speak plainly, from a power comparison standpoint, the Sages are undoubtedly at an advantage. We are at a disadvantage.”

”Yes, one cannot deny the facts.”

The old woman’s voice was deep, but she still showed no intention of giving up.

”What about seeking external aid? Is that feasible? For example... the Dolan Knight Order? Or should we seek assistance from the Dark Moon Pope in Ilyushil?”

”The Dark Moon Sect worships Great King Gwyn’s youngest child, the Shadow Sun—Gwendolin. He is both the Sect Leader of the Divine Race and a staunch supporter of the Fire Transmission!”

”The Dolan Knight Order...” the Knight Captain pondered aloud.

”Though Losric, in their homeland—Doran Gureg, accepted many refugees, knowledge, talents, and even absorbed the rich dragon culture after its destruction by Casas.”

”From a dragon-slaying nation to how they are now, living alongside dragons.”

”However, the Dolan Knight Order disintegrated into scattered mercenaries thousands of years ago, losing their knightly virtues, and now they are mere mercenaries. I am unsure if we can still trust them.”

”Will they disregard the flame?”

Priestess Emma couldn’t understand, as mercenaries relied on the order and environment provided by various nations, which in turn depended on the First Flame.

With the flame about to die, would mercenaries still function?

But the Knight Captain clearly understood these people better than the Priestess.

”The Prince, when hiring them, wouldn’t mention anything about the flame—he would only say we are rebels. And if a conflict starts and we tell them we are fighting for the flame, they would only assume it’s a tactic of deceptive rhetoric.”

”Getting people to fight doesn’t require explaining the ins and outs. Once battle starts, one cannot simply withdraw.”

”So, in my opinion, it’s better not to invite those mercenaries at all.”

”As for what you said about Ilyushil...”

The Knight Captain appeared undecided.

”Have the Executioners of the Dark Moon Sect—Dark Moon Sword—been absent from the public eye for too long? I’m unsure of their remaining strength.”

”Whatever little strength there is, we must go all out. Send a messenger to Dark Moon Pope Shalivan, without delay.”

With this, they more or less reached an agreement.

The Priestess and Knight Captain had determined to make decisions for Princes reluctant to transmit the flame and for the King who confined himself within his courtyard, pushing forward the Fire Transmission Ceremony.

At first glance, it seems like some change is bound to come in this dim, slowly dying world of flame.

But before the changes planned arrive...

Lann, following leisurely behind Lorenzo, just asked him about Losric’s current food situation and whether it was optimistic.

Lorenzo answered him bitterly: despite there being no more food in growth under the ’bloody eclipse,’ the rate at which humans turn into Undead or simply die actually exceeds the rate of food consumption.

So Losric’s food reserves were surprisingly optimistic.

This could be considered ’good news’ with a hellish aura.

However, after saying this, Lorenzo suddenly felt Lann stop in his tracks behind him.

The eyebrow that remained, half furrowed, turned to look behind him.

He saw his ’witness’ squinting slightly, gently twitching his pretty nose.

”What are you smelling?”

Lorenzo asked confusedly.

But Lann was focused solely on discerning the scent information in his nostrils.

This scent was unique on the walls of Losric.

These walls were originally military facilities, filled with the odor of soldiers’ sweat, the smell of maintenance oil, even the scent of blood, dust.

With residential areas nearby, the vicinity carried the aroma of food and drinks.

But now, the scent perceived by Lann’s Demon Hunter senses...

”The smell of old book pages and heavy candle wax.”

In Lorenzo’s puzzled gaze, Lann spoke softly.

”Honestly, I have a knack for scent recognition. These smells... did you build a library on a military wall?”

”These pages and ink have a very distinct, concentrated odor.”

”A library? On the wall?” Lorenzo first looked at Lann with a peculiar expression. ”Are you mad?”

But then, he heard Lann’s quiet words and saw the cautious seriousness in those feline eyes.