Bear School Astartes

”Boom, boom, boom!”

A series of explosive sounds, reminiscent of old-fashioned camera flashes, emanated from the depths of the dark abyss.

The abrupt and brief consecutive flashes were dizzying.

Two phantom-like spirits, without inertia or weight, tumbled around the cave walls.

Like clouds of smoke with self-awareness.

They floated lightly on the cave walls, then suddenly regained mass and momentum, screaming as they rushed downwards towards Lann!

The Hammer Ring Spirit was still the first enemy to charge forward.

Every spirit was an ancient human king and powerful warrior, each with heroic-level skills and strength.

However, Lann had faced many heroes before.

[Alder’s Rune]!

”Bang!”

The Demon Hunter held the Lady of the Lake’s Sword horizontally in front of him, while his left hand, primed with the rune, rested behind the Long Blade.

The shockwave of Chaos Magic Power swept across the sword blade imbued with holy power, and with a slight touch, blasted the spirit wielding the Hammer down from mid-air!

Because the shockwave of the rune only carried a hint of holy power, it did not explode with the same brilliance as before.

The kind that forcibly pulled the spirit from the Netherworld, and collided with power in sudden bursts of bright light.

But the spirit, undoubtedly, was indeed struck and affected by Alder’s Rune.

The Hammer Ring Spirit, momentarily showing a high degree of materialization, was blown by Alder’s Rune.

He crashed crookedly into the side wall of the cave, with a muffled ’boom’.

His decayed yet powerful armor hammered a human-sized indentation into the cave’s rock wall, with web-like cracks extending from the indentation.

Fragmented rocks flew and fell to the ground, striking the Northern soldiers’ bones and armor.

Today, the intensity of Lann’s rune and the Chaos Magic Power stored within his body were no longer at the ordinary Demon Hunter level.

His body continuously strengthened, and the materials used for [Tendon Coil] were Valerian steel, which is excellent for channeling magic.

Perhaps even within the Griffin School famed for its runes, those with rune strength like his were among the very early Demon Hunters.

After the Hammer Ring Spirit was blown away by Alder’s Rune imbued with holy power, the next to charge at Lann was the Flail Ring Spirit.

This weapon is essentially a meteor hammer, with the hammer handle and hammer head linked by a chain. To strike effectively, it needs to be swung to accumulate initial inertia.

Being swung for force, its single attack is more powerful than a one-handed hammer.

But after each strike, it must be swung again to regain inertia, which results in a larger attack interval for this weapon.

The spirit wielding the flail is an expert.

Lann did not know what kind of warrior he was before being corroded by Sorun, but in the spirit state, this guy can fully utilize the power of the Netherworld.

The murky and gloomy power is gathered at the flail’s hammer head.

He can freely convert the hammer head’s lightness and weight, reducing weight during retrieval, and increasing it when swung down, gaining the inertia needed to operate the weapon in a very short time.

Among those Lann has seen using this weapon, he is the strongest.

But... he is just like that.

Under the stabilizing light from above, Lann’s eyes deepened.

[Spiritual Vision]!

Directly observing the [Netherworld], Lann felt the profound and gloomy power of this interface.

Previously, he would likely not risk observing the Netherworld with a penetrating gaze.

But now, the Lake Lady’s Sword in his right hand shone with a warm and enduring glow.

This glow protects and purifies the holder’s intellect and soul.

In the instant when the flail came crashing down, [Spiritual Vision] had captured sufficient information.

In a blink, the Demon Hunter’s eyes returned to normal, while the shimmering long blade moved accordingly.

The intricately runed blade reliably intercepted the descending hammer head.

”Clang!!!”

A sudden intense light flashed, with sparks shaped perfectly into circles by the shock wave.

[Carp Jump]!

”Ah!”

The spirit screamed, but it could not control the flailing hammer head.

Controlling the hammer head with a chain has this flaw; the wielder’s control is weakened by the chain.

The screaming spirit glimpsed his opponent’s gaze.

Those calm and composed cat-like eyes.

The long blade, which skillfully deflected the flail hammer head, flexibly curved like a free carp in water.

In the next moment, it wedged directly into the middle of the flail chain, swinging wildly due to weapon loss of control!

’Clink-clink’ sounds of blade and chain friction, and the light combat between the dark power on the flail and the holy power on the blade, flashed intermittently with a gentle white light.

Lann’s blade tangled the chain, pressed against the spirit’s throat, pinning him against the cave wall.

”Looks like this time I can get to you. And you guys...”

The Demon Hunter chuckled playfully, gazing at the dry and ethereal face right in front of him.

”You can’t escape.”

Aron Dite wound with the flail’s chain, forcing it to emerge from the Netherworld.

And as long as the contact remains unbroken, the Ring Spirit cannot re-enter the Netherworld, nor can it make its body ethereal and hide its form.

One of Lann’s hands held the hilt horizontally, while the other pinched a Magic Seal aimed at the blade’s tip.

The Ring Spirit’s evil aura was almost breathing onto Lann’s face.

”Goodbye.”

”Bang!”

”Ah!!!”

It was still Alder’s Rune! Only this time, the impact of the Magic Seal was completely concentrated on the blade’s tip, pushing the blade forward.

Under the new force, the long blade at the Ring Spirit’s neck, along with the chain coiled around it, abruptly sliced into the Ring Spirit’s body!

The Ring Spirit let out a piercing scream.

And the stone wall where the Ring Spirit was pinned also shattered with a ’kara la’ crackling sound, large flake-like stones exploded off and crashed to the ground.

The death of the Flail Ring Spirit, like the Longsword Ring Spirit, resulted in a brief explosion, after which the scattered armor parts maintained their physical form for a moment, clattered to the ground with a ’clang’ sound, then disappeared.

After the Ring Spirit vanished, Aron Dite, with its elegantly curved blade etched with runes, had cut more than halfway into the rock wall.

The previous strike didn’t just slice into the Ring Spirit’s neck but rather severed it completely!

Meanwhile, just as the previous Ring Spirit had been decapitated, with even the scattered armor pieces still maintaining their material form and rolling on the ground.

The Hammer Ring Spirit rushed out from behind, hurrying.

But his forceful page hammer did not manage to strike Lann from behind just as he had embedded his sword into the rock wall.

Because after a ’bang’ sound,

The ethereal one-handed page hammer didn’t land solidly on the Demon Hunter’s back or head.

A protective shield glowing with golden and pure luminance automatically reacted as the hammer descended.

The shield shattered, and the explosive recoil not only blocked the attack but even sent the Hammer Ring Spirit flying backward.

With a ’sizzle’, Aron Dite, whose blade was embedded halfway into the rock wall, was pulled out with one hand by Lann.

Incredibly smooth, the force of the rock wall squeezing the blade compared to the one-handed strength of the Demon Hunter was insignificant.

Pulling out the blade, Lann turned and charged straight at the Hammer Ring Spirit.

This reaction speed was too fast.

The Demon Hunter gripped the hilt with his right hand and gently supported the middle of the blade with his left hand.

The guard on the hilt twisted, and under a burst of bright white light from the clash of forces, the guard caught the Hammer Ring Spirit’s hammerhead.

The Ring Spirit, initially supposed to fly back in its ethereal state, was completely unable to free itself after this maneuver.

Immediately following, Lann twisted the blade he held in his hand, positioned it at the chest-abdomen area, and thrust forward!

”Squelch!”

”Ah!!!”

The blade’s tip, glowing faintly, stabbed into the Hammer Ring Spirit’s abdomen and exited upwards, emerging near the spine close to the nape.

The Ring Spirit let out a heavy-echoed wail filled with resentment and darkness.

Holy power emitted a white light from within the Ring Spirit, dispersing the evil spirit lurking in the Netherworld.

As before, the armor pieces were slow to disappear and clattered to the ground with a ’clang’ sound after hitting the ground.

Lann, watching the Ring Spirit vanish from his blade, cautiously scanned the chamber’s floor one last time before slowly stepping out of his tense combat state.

”Boss! Are they all dealt with meow?”

Lifting his head to look upwards, Rong Buqiu perched at the passageway entrance called down.

Lann waved a hand upwards, ”It should be done, only three Ring Spirits came.”

After speaking, he sheathed the Lady of the Lake’s Sword, raised his left hand to fire the projector’s grappling hook upward, gripping the torn, protruding remnants of the iron barred door above.

Using the Light Body Breathing Technique to climb up.

Radagast remained somewhat nervously alert, holding his sometimes functional Magic Staff, providing illumination and the power of light.

After Lann climbed to the top of the passageway, Radagast hurriedly pushed him, urgently urging him to leave.

While walking, he grumbled, ”Quick, quick, quick! Don’t linger in this ominous place!”

”Hey! Don’t push me! I just killed two Ring Spirits!”

The narrow passage made Lann uneasy in his position; he chided Radagast behind him unceremoniously.

”Really?” The scruffy Old Wizard wasn’t relieved, remaining as tense as when he first saw the Ring Spirits. ”Let me tell you, young man, you didn’t kill a single Ring Spirit! Ring Spirits can’t be killed!”

”Their life has been connected to the Dark Demon Monarch ever since the ring completely corrupted them. As long as the Dark Demon Monarch exists, they can only be temporarily dispersed!”

”Besides, I also just got rid of one! What’s all the boasting about?”

The Old Wizard babbled on, while Rong Buqiu jumped ahead, holding up his hand.

”I helped with that Ring Spirit too, meow!”