Bear School Astartes

Chapter 950: Chapter 932: A Marvel Ahead

Elderidge has become the greatest threat in Lann’s heart.

The darkness lurking within his body, though temporarily subdued by the rekindling flame, oppressed and eroded him during those sunless times, entwining around Lann’s mind and body.

”Don’t worry! Kirk and I will help you, anytime you call!”

The guy next to him, wearing a comical yellow high hat, spoke very familiarly.

Just after introductions, Lann learned that her name was Hazel, and she was skilled in magic.

Lann was somewhat surprised, or rather unaccustomed to... meeting someone so naturally familiar for the first time in this world.

Or to put it another way, meeting someone so innocent for the first time.

After just stating his identity, this girl, who had been listening to Kirk’s stories, treated him as a companion.

Enthusiastically pulling him into conversation.

In this cruel and unstable world, Lann didn’t dislike such a personality, but worried whether such a person could survive well in difficult situations...

Enthusiasm and familiarity to a certain extent imply a lack of vigilance, easy to be deceived.

However, the warm help from Hazel left Lann in good spirits.

”Of course, I will call on you. If you’re not busy with something else at that time.”

”Don’t worry, I’m on standby anytime!”

Hazel patted her chest, assuring him.

While next to her, Kirk, after a moment of silence, looked at Lann with a meaningful gaze before nodding stiffly.

”I’ll help too, but...” he said, turning his head towards the yellow hat beside him, ”don’t make promises for others so easily, Hazel. It will bring trouble.”

Hazel tilted her head and spread her hands, seemingly indifferent.

”Originally, Leonard left Clayton here as well, but I don’t suggest you seek him out.”

Although Kirk, in his fearsome armor, was the kind who made people uneasy even when passing by, he genuinely seemed to want to help Lann, giving him advice.

”That man is a traitor from the Miller Knight Order, a wandering knight. Though I’m in no place to speak ill of him, this man indeed... is not trustworthy. Leonard kept him purely because he was useful, without any regrets in abandoning him.”

The yellow-hatted Hazel murmured beside, saying things like ’I think he’s quite good,’ ’nothing seems off.’

But Lann still remembered that person. When facing the bishop group eroded by the Profound Faith, Clayton hooked a Maggot Man’s corpse with the backward blade of his axe and propped it up in front of himself.

Lann felt then, if a live Maggot Man were closer to him, this guy probably wouldn’t have bothered reaching for a farther corpse.

”I’ll be careful.”

Lann nodded to Kirk and Hazel, then turned to leave.

Leonard said he ’left some people behind,’ but it was just these three. In this end time of the declining flame, managing to gather a team of fewer than ten was already impressive, nothing more could be expected.

And after noting down their emblems, Lann prepared to head for Ilyushil.

The true homeland of the Profound Saint, the New Divine Capital.

Before leaving, he visited Rosalie again and two divine children undergoing miraculous treatment.

Among them, Geside showed no change; she was the subject of the deepest research by the sages of the Great Library, and curing her would presumably be the most difficult.

Othello, on the other hand, was slightly better. At least when Lann checked on him, he reached out his small hand toward the Demon Hunter again. A sign of vitality.

But Lann was a bit puzzled, previously explaining it as Rosalie’s residual power making the child feel close.

Now, bathed in the miraculous glow of his mother, why was he reaching out to me?

Does he simply like me?

An unclear Lann didn’t dwell on it; he simply paid his respects to Rosalie, who was continuously maintaining the miracle against the crystalline forces, before leaving.

Despite constantly maintaining the release of power, the seated Goddess leaned forward slightly to respond to the departing Lann.

”If Elderidge really moved to Ilyushil, I’d like to ask you for a favor.”

At the gate of the Profound Church, Leonard, as if finally overcoming his inner discomfort, reestablished communication with Lann.

He adjusted the brim of his wide-brimmed hat, an image that always made Lann feel like he belonged in Yan’an.

”If you have the chance, please check the ruins of Yanorlund after reaching the city of Ilyushil.”

”At the highest point of those ruins, there should still be a bedchamber left, which was Rosalie’s residence before she adopted an alias and was wed.”

”Previously, due to concerns over the relationship between the two divine branches of Losric and Ilyushil, the Goddess could only be humbly settled here. But now Losric is self-occupied, lingering in such a place is too unjust for the Goddess.”

”The current Sect Leader of the Divine Race, Dark Moon God Gwendolin, is the Goddess’s younger brother. Since Othello has lost his mind and was killed by you, there’s no reason he would let his sister remain outside in neglect, right? Isn’t that the reasoning?”

The noble widow ready to see if the ancestral mansion can still be of use.

This was Lann’s understanding of this request.

”No problem, sounds like it’s on the way.”

So Lann agreed easily, and then prepared to ride the Qilin to Ilyushil.

According to Kirk’s route description, this journey was both long and dangerous.

First, he needed to pass through the path of living sacrifices and reach the abandoned Fort Fran.

Then, from the Spirit Temple of Fort Fran, enter the underground passage.

Long ago, this route wasn’t dangerous. As a legacy fortress of the Lords of Cinder, even if it was abandoned, it was well taken care of.

As long as you had a decree issued by Losric, you could directly pass through the underground passage, cross the mountains, and then enter the Cold Valley.

However, after the Falan Undead Team kindled the fire, the Country of Yellow Sands, Casas, rose to prominence.

Casas, who fought everywhere and was never defeated, even briefly captured the former Country of Fire—Doran Gureg.

This achievement made King Vonier conceited, proclaiming himself as the ”Overlord,” and he no longer had any reverence for countries established by the Divine Race like Losric and Ilyushil.

Then, with his burgeoning ambition, Vonier invaded this land, only to be caught in between Losric and Ilyushil, resulting in the total destruction of his armies.

The vast kingdom, maintained by absolute military power, also collapsed and perished as that power vanished.

Only a group of undead and skeletons remained, becoming the gravekeepers of the king in the vast underground passage.

It is said that in desperation, Vonier realized the power of ’darkness’ deep underground, and his guards were affected, thereby losing their human forms.

When Lann heard Kirk’s tale, it felt like listening to a myth, shrouded in clouds and mist.

But at least he understood one thing: this path would likely be difficult to traverse now.

And he knew another thing: he could completely avoid taking that difficult path.

The reason for traveling through the vast and complex underground passage to reach Ilyushil was mainly to save time crossing the mountains and to navigate the treacherous terrain.

However, these obstacles were truly meaningless to a Qilin.

If the darkness within Lann’s body was becoming overwhelmingly urgent, threatening to consume his body and soul in any second, then the Qilin could indeed carry Lann through the underground passage.

But now, seeing the Demon Hunter alive and kicking and seemingly capable of throwing a few punches,

the Qilin had absolutely no intention of diving into the underground passage.

”Vonier realized the power of darkness in desperation”... Hear that!

How terrifying for the Qilin!

Seeing even someone like Lann being eroded by the darkness of this world, the Qilin had no spirit of facing challenges head-on.

”Snort!”

Its large nostrils exhaled hot air, and the Qilin’s ruby-like eyes were fixed intently on Lann.

Beneath its noble and elegant horse-like form, the Qilin’s inner drama was laid bare before Lann.

”Take a detour, boss! We can really take a detour! Trust me! Crossing the mountains is no big deal!”

Beneath the proud and bold figure of this magnificent horse was a soul as leisurely and lazy as a college student.

Lann once thought it rather inappropriate to insult a person he once aspired to become in such a way, but he also couldn’t find any other suitable expression to describe this Qilin.

However, Lann’s current target was Elderidge, and his attitude towards other enemies was to avoid them if possible.

Thus, the Qilin’s suggestion was accepted.

-----------------

”Clap!”

The New World Dragon’s agile and powerful physique, enhanced by the stimulation of lightning, was as light and effortless as a drifting leaf.

Ordinary people walking on flat ground for five hundred meters might only need a few minutes. But walking uphill, ascending five hundred meters in altitude could take all morning.

And in this world sustained by fire, the treacherous nature of the mountain paths was even more exaggerated; it could even be said there’s no proper path, just unmarked stone wilderness.

But these differences, beneath the feet of a New World Dragon, didn’t even make the Qilin feel a difference.

Climbing these mountains felt no different from walking on a smooth path in the Magic Middle Ages.

In just one morning, the Qilin crossed the entire mountain range.

When Lann and Rong Buqiu sat on its back to catch their breath, the newly established Divine Capital after the end of the Mythical Era—Ilyushil,

already appeared before them.

After Rudus ascended the throne of desires and rekindled the flame, the world’s timeline had nearly returned to normal.

It should have been afternoon at this time, but when the Demon Hunter and Elu Cat got off the dragon’s back, what greeted them was a tranquil and elegant night scene.

The large moon hovered in the sky, serene and infinite. Gothic spires of varying heights created an uneven skyline.

The towering buildings in the distance were as high as mountains, shrouded in an aurora that defied logic and should not have appeared here.

Like a white veil in the middle of the night stirred by a gentle breeze, reflecting the moonlight, ethereal and soft.