Bear School Astartes

Falling directly from mid-air, with a double-bladed glaive spinning in his hands.

This kind of intimidation is very strong.

Lann's dynamic vision easily caught the blood-red maple leaves in the sky being swept up by the propeller-like blade light and turning into fine debris in the blink of an eye.

These guys, who blend the "Immortal Peak Temple Martial Arts" and Chaos Wave Group Ninja Arts, are called Gun Mages internally.

The disheveled straw raincoat on their bodies is lifted and expanded by the airflow of the double-bladed glaive, making them look like ferocious demons descending from the sky!

Lann squinted his eyes slightly.

He didn't want to clash head-on with a move that gains power through gravity.

"[Alder]!"

The Demon Hunter raised his left hand to the sky, and a sudden burst of cold white magic shockwave erupted from the pre-formed magic seal!

The impact of chaos magic power vibrated the atmosphere, producing a muffled 'boom'.

The Gun Mage, originally swinging the double-bladed glaive, was on the verge of having the airflow sweep onto Lann.

But after a sudden and inexplicable shock, although it wasn't enough to blow him away, the momentum accumulated from top to bottom was already reduced by more than half.

And at this moment, Lann then suddenly charged forward, ready to engage in close combat.

The very first instant the two met.

"Ding ding ding ding ding!"

A cascade of dazzling sparks suddenly flashed continuously!

The brightness was such that a fleeting shadow appeared on Lann's face.

The attack frequency of these Gun Mages was really frighteningly fast, at least seven blade clashes on Lann's sword just now.

In that moment, the opponent's double-bladed glaive spun three and a half times in one go!

The single force wasn't much, Lann could completely withstand it, but this extremely fast attack frequency almost broke Lann's Iwami Style: Flowing Water stance!

"Also a suppression move specifically targeting stances... They really have the same flavor, coming from the martial arts styles of Iwami Country!"

Amidst the sparks of clashing blades, Lann smirked.

[Iwami One-Stroke Slash·Double]!

After the initial engagement, the Demon Hunter exerted force in his arm and forcefully broke through the opponent's successive offensive.

With his stance fixed, using a standard East Japan sword dao element of surprise technique, he slashed twice.

Plain and unremarkable moves, yet under the power of [Iwami Style], they were extremely forceful!

As the blade swung down, even though the blade's literal tip was half a body-length from the ground, the heap of blood-red maple leaves on the ground was swept up like parted waves.

His own posture, muscle connections, quickly readjusted under the effects of [One-Stroke Slash] and [Trunk Breath].

But Lann's expression was not at all relaxed.

"What a graceful body..."

The Demon Hunter's cat eyes watched the Gun Mage who was just in front of him in the last moment, but in the next instant had already flipped as light as a sheet of paper to land six or seven meters away.

The flexibility of the "Immortal Peak Temple Martial Arts" combined with the Chaos Wave Group's Light Body Skill, the synergistic effect of the two martial arts, made the Gun Mages' air time and fluidity superior even among the Chaos Wave Group.

And they clearly knew more about conducting direct combat than the ninjas focused on stealth and a single killing blow.

Without using some means and just clashing in swordsmanship, these people could easily leave Lann bewildered.

The mobility advantage is a huge influencing factor in battle.

When the enemy can't catch up with oneself, confrontation will only briefly happen under one's own control when fully ready and confident to strike.

Watching the erratically moving Gun Mage, Lann licked his dry lips.

While in the other battle rings, Old Robert was purely in a passive state of taking blows.

The opponent's double-bladed glaive whirled like a large windmill, igniting dense sparks on his Southern Barbarian Armor.

And from these sparks, observing the opponent's blade points indicates they are pressing towards Old Robert's head.

If hit at such an attack frequency, even with the Southern Barbarian Armor's protection, the person inside would likely be stunned.

Iwami Yixin, however, remained at ease.

The Gun Mage descending from the sky seemed no different from ordinary monks or Chaos Wave Group in his eyes.

He directly extended his unarmed hand into the frightening 'propeller' as the opponent came flying in mid-air.

Accurately grasping the fleeting glaive shaft, then seemingly executed a technique similar to jiu-jitsu.

The downward forceful charge from the opponent was completely deflected by Iwami Yixin's jiu-jitsu in his hand.

The swirling double-bladed glaive halted, and the Gun Mage's body crashed directly onto the ground, red and white liquid flowing from under the straw hat.

Due to the combat compatibility, Iwami Yixin found it easiest to deal with these people.

This battlefield veteran quickly responded, moving towards the direction of the other two.

"Those glaive guys are interesting, leave them to me!"

Lann and Old Robert had no objections; for these two heavy-armor units, facing enemies who could effectively utilize [Light Body Skill] in direct conflict was indeed tormenting.

So, the three who were initially fighting separately soon converged in one area.

The Gun Mages wanting to come over to fight were naturally intercepted by Iwami Yixin, then swiftly dispatched.

Lann and Old Robert, these two heavy-armored ones, subtly exhaled in relief from their earlier unfavorable encounters.

Only taking hits and not landing blows—it's quite stressful psychologically.

The morale-striking tactics of Mongolian mounted archery work on similar principles.

The Gun Mages were decisively cut down by three more in front of Iwami Yixin.

If they didn't use [Light Body Skill] to jump, it was fine, but once they did, the fearsome air blade would suddenly slice their necks open.

Timing control, reaction ability, precision of technique, power, and range of the Qi Blade... Iwami Yixin's skills were highly suppressive against these bouncing foes.

Making them seem like mere foot soldiers before him.

The Gun Mages' numbers drastically reduced; the remainder seemed to be intimidated by the [Sword Saint]'s blade, only hovering around the periphery, not daring to enter the battle zone.

It appeared the battle situation was slowly turning back in Lann's favor.

However...

The Demon Hunter subtly twitched his nose amidst the thick scent of blood, catching an unnatural aroma.

"This is... gunpowder!?"

Several flying contraptions akin to bamboo dragonflies with parcels attached to them were gently spinning their propellers, heading towards the concentrated spot of Lann and the others!

Following the trajectory of the sparks on the flying devices, the Demon Hunter spotted the monk wearing a headscarf and veil who had initially shouted.

These came from his small pouch on his waist!

Old Robert and Iwami Yixin had not yet noticed these small bamboo dragonflies.

And Lann, who was the first to observe, frowned but didn't feel overwhelmed.

"Alright, I figured the monks would have some tricks up their sleeves..."

Reaching towards the alchemy pouch on his lower back with his right hand, he fished out a round bomb.

While the Demon Hunter's left hand directly covered the 'bamboo dragonfly' on the ground, forming the magic seal.

"[Quen]!"

Instantly, a golden bowl-shaped magic shield shrouded half of the 'bamboo dragonfly'.

The open side of the bowl was directed outwardly, beyond the combat circle of the three.

"Scattering explosions are so boring..."

"Let's have a controlled explosion!"