Bear School Astartes

”Is that conclusion... not entirely so?”

Lann said, standing behind Sachia with his arms crossed, as the bald knight turned and frowned at him.

”Sir, most non-human races also condemn the activities of the Squirrel Faction and completely want nothing to do with them. Most of them just want to maintain a stable life, and they’ve paid a heavy price for it.”

”A half-elf was the mayor of a town not far from Vizima, who frequently called for peace and cooperation between the two races, ultimately dying in an assassin’s attack.”

”And the assassin who shot that arrow was undoubtedly one of his seemingly harmless neighbors. A half-elf or a dwarf.” The bald knight sneered coldly.

”If you ask me, none of them are loyal. Don’t talk to me about the loyalty of non-human races! They are all our enemies, only some of them are better at disguising themselves!”

It seemed due to the importance of the warriors on the barge chartered by Duke Seward, the bald knight turned around and spoke earnestly to Sachia and Lann behind her, with a frown.

He spread his hands, trying to enhance his credibility through gestures.

”The dwarves and half-elves have lived with us in human society for centuries, in some ways fairly harmoniously. But look at now!”

”As soon as the elves made the first move, they all grabbed their weapons with a swoosh and ran into the forest!”

”If you ask me, ignoring the Free Elves and tree spirits to maintain social stability back then was sheer stupidity! We shouldn’t have allowed them to retain the mountains and forests!”

”’Drive the humans back to the sea!’ Listen! If they want war, give them war! Let’s see who can survive in the end!”

Sachia’s lips moved slightly, seemingly wanting to say something, but then she sighed because ultimately what she said wasn’t what she initially intended to say.

”Pursuing elves in the forests and valleys is unwise, sir.”

Sachia said.

”And I also advise against chasing dwarves and half-elves aided by elves in those places.”

The bald knight nodded in agreement: ”That’s hitting the point.”

”You’re all excellent mercenaries and warriors, obviously very experienced. Chasing them in the shrubs and woods is pointless and inefficient.”

”The best way is to cut off their supply lines, isolate them. Arrest the non-human races aiding the Squirrel Faction so they lose their foundation for guerrilla warfare. What’s it called again? Yes! Drawing the bottom from the kettle! In the cities, in the towns, arrest them all...”

”The problem is,” Lann calmly interjected, ”how do you determine who are the non-human races aiding the Squirrel Faction?”

”Then arrest them all! Not a single one left!”

”Ha!” Lann’s calm laughter was almost seamlessly connected to the bald knight’s response, as if he already knew the other would say so.

”I get it, I seem to have heard this argument somewhere before. Grab every non-human race by the back of the neck and toss them into the quarries and mines, including the innocent ones, including the old, weak, and children, right?”

”This sounds much like the bloody policies of Farjia. Only Farjia targeted those who opposed her, regardless of humans or non-human races. In this regard, you seem better than her. But in terms of fairness, she’s better than you.”

The bald knight angrily threw down the leather gloves in his hand, making a loud sound.

”Enough, don’t think I didn’t hear your satire. But what other way is there?”

”You’re a warrior, you must be aware of the recent war atmosphere, right? The truce agreement with Niflgaard is as fragile as an eggshell! When the Southern Empire comes again, do we still have to face such rampant Squirrel Faction in our rear?”

”And needless to say, as the war progresses, we and Niflgaard will become increasingly weak. Then, how many of those ’loyal neighbors’ you spoke of will join the Squirrel Faction once they see our vulnerability?”

”The Niflgaard people are counting on them to bleed us from behind!”

A sudden cheer came from outside, and the wooden door of the guard booth was knocked on.

The officer who came to fetch people on board poked his head in, first looking around before continuing, ”A pathway has been barely cleared in the waterway, probably enough for the barge to pass. Should we let them set sail, sir?”

The bald knight sighed and waved his hand.

”They are the Duke’s urgently needed personnel, can’t afford to waste time clearing the river thoroughly. Let them go, the rest we will handle gradually.”

Finally, Sachia and Lann turned and walked outside, the bald knight coolly said.

”May you reach safely, may your lives not be taken by treacherous Elf Arrows. That’s all I can wish for you, ladies and gentlemen.”

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

The barge set sail again and slowed down.

The captain, who was originally lazily chewing on fish jerky, was now focused on the floating wreckage of wooden boats on the surrounding water surface.

This temporarily cleared waterway was really narrow, barely enough for this size barge to pass.

And Sachia and Lann were still standing at the bow, watching the wreckage of sunken ships fall behind on both sides of the bow.

On those protruding wrecks above the water, there were occasionally remnants of human or non-human race limbs and bloodstains left on them.

The flesh and blood had attracted fish and shrimp of various sizes in the river.

”Tragic and complex...”

Sachia leaned against the railing, frowning as she murmured.

She wasn’t shocked by the battle remnants on the river below; these things she had grown accustomed to.

What truly shocked her was... that seemingly ordinary conversation just now.

Lann stood quietly by the railing, gently stroking the fur on the back of Rong Buqiu, who was squatting on the railing.

He didn’t speak, but Sachia, perhaps because they had previously discussed books and engaged in the conversation together, felt the urge to express her thoughts to him.

The female warrior with a red and white cotton headband turned her head, looking at the Demon Hunter whose delicate side face was partially hidden under the hood.

”This world... has it always been this complicated?”

Lann didn’t immediately respond to Sachia’s question; instead, he curiously turned to look at her.

”Listen to your tone; it’s as if you’re seeing this world for the first time?”

”No!” Sachia instinctively denied it at once, but then as if realizing such a hasty denial was too suspicious, she forced herself to calm down and cover up.

To Lann, her behavior seemed quite strange and awkward.

”I just... just haven’t delved into something as profound as racial issues, you know? I used to just mindlessly wield a sword, but now I’m reading books, debating with people...”

The Demon Hunter chuckled softly.

”It’s unfortunate; the books you’ve read had been meticulously ’embellished’ by the authors, simplifying and mindlessly attributing Nilfgaard’s lack of racial issues to their so-called ’unity under the sun banner.’

”But today, standing on the scene of a Squirrel Faction attack, where both sides suffered casualties, the complex yet real situation hit you squarely in the face.”

Sachia sighed, returning to a state of calm and melancholy. She frustratedly and absentmindedly scratched her dark-golden hair.

”I used to think that racial peace could be achieved with just a little concession from the dominant race, namely humans. But now?”

”What if the non-human races aren’t satisfied after getting concessions? Can humans keep giving in? What happens when hatred can’t be suppressed?”

”The non-human races have indeed suffered unjust treatment, but what if they in turn implicate the innocent? Many humans have genuinely not oppressed them.”

”And humans have their own problems; the southern Niflgaard Empire is stirring restlessly, so how can we allow unrest at the rear at this time?”

Sachia rambled on to herself, but as she spoke, she started getting a headache and sighed.

Just as she was holding her head in frustration, she turned to see the person beside her, arms crossed, leaning against the railing and tilting his head to watch her.

Even with the hooded cloak, she could sense his intrigued emotions.

She immediately felt a bit irritated.

”Look at you, so composed.” She said sarcastically, ”I suppose, like yesterday when you guided me on what constitutes a ’credible book,’ you have a profound insight on this too?”

”Insight is hard to say.” Lann shook his head, ”But I must say, I find you quite impressive.”

”Hmm?”

Sachia frowned in confusion.

”Firstly, you want to change the status quo by taking action. What surprised me is that you show no signs of giving up despite setbacks.”

”Secondly, you acknowledged and admitted the complexity of real issues. You’ve even begun to use your brain to attempt to understand and resolve this complexity.”

The Demon Hunter raised his hand from under the cloak, counting his fingers one by one.

”You really look like someone capable of great things now, Sachia.”

”But the ’great person’ now only feels you’re mocking her.” The dark-golden hair fell at her neck as Sachia frowned discontentedly.

”Or is it that...” Below the golden hair tips, her blue eyes looked at him, ”You actually have an opinion on this matter?”

Strangely, even though Sachia hadn’t seen this person’s real face or body through the magic cloak, nor had they exchanged names,

She couldn’t shake the feeling that, when facing this complex racial issue, this person seemed... not as clueless as she was.

Lann didn’t continue speaking but simply looked towards the direction of the ship’s bow along with Rong Buqiu.

The terrain on both sides of the Ponta River gradually rose, the plains turning into mountainous areas. The soil became rocky.

Located between the Kestor Mountains and the Mahakan Mountains, the Ponta River Valley was a long, narrow region, requiring a full day’s passage even for a barge.

Fortunately, the gathering place established by Duke Seward was outside the valley.

Arriving over an hour later than the expected dinner time, the barge successfully reached its destination.