Bear School Astartes

No time for small talk, no time for sentimentality.

On the battlefield of a death struggle, even farewells must be concise and efficient.

Old Robert thrust the giant sword he could no longer hold firmly into the ground and charged towards the Immortal Peak Master and the three Undying Insects without looking back.

"For... Robert!!!"

This middle-aged man who crossed the ocean from Europe to this place shouted his son's name, which was also his own name.

The Undying Insect's hideous teeth and limbs struck sparks from his armor.

Yet he ignored it, directly charging into the 'base' where the insects clung, beside the Immortal Peak Master.

Robust arms tightly clasped this skeletal living Buddha, with the sound of breaking bones incessant.

And the Undying Insects 'embraced' this enemy who delivered himself to them.

The countless limbs of the centipedes wrapped and entwined Old Robert tightly.

The sound of chitin and steel scraping, grinding, made one's heart chill.

Underneath the steel armor, viscous blood dripped down.

The centipedes had already pierced their limbs into the weak spots of the armor, beginning to reach the flesh inside.

Old Robert clearly and slowly felt the sensation of being gradually tightened and torn apart.

This terrifying feeling reminded him of when he was a child, catching and tearing off the legs of insects one by one.

Except now, the one being slowly torn apart was himself.

Yet Old Robert still did not let go, he continued to tightly hold the Immortal Peak Master in place.

The Undying Insect that provided spring-like jumping mobility was now coiled around him, unable to move.

The decayed flesh of the Immortal Peak Master was squeezed into a ball by the 'embrace', with a short blade inserted atop still scraping against his skull and jawbone.

His face, skeletal and withered like a skull, couldn't make an expression, he merely lowered his head and murmured.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry... Mercy... Buddha's mercy... Save us..."

The human body embraced, the centipede's body entangled, like an illustration from the eighteenth level of Hell.

Lann showed no excess expression, nor did he spare another glance at this scene.

He merely bit his teeth tightly, calmly, and drew Old Robert's greatsword.

The massive blade, dim and grimy grey, was clearly a well-used item from the battlefield.

Lann's leather gloves gripped the hilt, producing a creaking sound from the compressed leather.

"This weight is quite fitting, isn't it, Mentos?"

One and a half palms wide, 1.8 meters long, the steel greatsword weighed dozens of kilograms. It was not a weapon ordinary people could handle.

Not even something ordinary people could lift. But for monster hunting...

"...Yes, it is quite fitting, sir."

Mentos understood Lann.

It knew that its host didn't care whether the greatsword fit or not, but still agreed.

The greatsword in the Demon Hunter's hands emitted a mournful sound of wind.

This wind sound was entirely different from the fierce breaking wind sound when wielding the katana or the Lady of the Lake's Sword. It carried a sense of oppression that even made one involuntarily want to clutch their chest to calm their heartbeat.

At this moment, the Eight Hundred Nuns had just passed by Iwami Yixin.

The Golden Iron Dragon-Slaying Blade slashed her flanks, and her phantom-like body didn't bleed but instead expelled a splash of viscous liquid.

Iwami Yixin's stamina was nearing its limit, he even failed to completely evade the opponent's naginata blade this time.

A large patch of his shoulder cloak was cleaved off, narrowly missing the entire arm being severed.

A sinister laugh came from underneath the Eight Hundred Nuns' Noh mask.

But she did not intend to continue entangling with Iwami Yixin.

Her goal had always been clear and precise—

To merge forces with the Immortal Peak Master, these enemies, long exhausted, would naturally be easily dealt with.

She was not a warrior, not even a martial artist. She was merely a guard wielding a blade to protect the Divine Dragon.

No excessive psychological burden, nor concern for the blade's persistence and glory.

We, blessed with the gift of the Divine Dragon's insect, have weathered the vicissitudes.

Undying, it is the lengthy journey of enlightenment.

Hearing that the Divine Dragon drifted from the Western homeland to here, we have already understood the reason for our bestowed immortality.

The Divine Dragon must be 'contained' in the 'cradle' and sent back to the homeland.

Therefore, we must not allow the 'cradle' to suffer any mishap at this time!

The Eight Hundred Nuns suddenly and effortlessly soared as if she had steel wires tied to her back.

The sinister laughter echoed through the Buddhist temple hall.

But immediately after...

"Get down here!"

The giant blade, with a chillingly oppressive whistle, slammed down from mid-air!

Lann exhaled high-temperature breath from his open mouth.

The air before his nose and mouth even warped slightly due to the heat.

The operation speed of two hearts was unprecedented, utilizing a technique learned from the ninja technique book that controlled the heart's activity through a breathing method took effect.

The oxygen-carrying capacity of blood flowing from two hearts greatly increased, and the blood pumped from the [Second Heart] was additionally imbued with inexplicably high temperature.

Lann also gulped down a [Battle Magic Potion Combo] he concocted himself.

[Thunder], [Blizzard], [Maribo Forest].

They respectively boosted physical strength, neural response, and vitality recovery speed.

The potion's toxin invaded the facial blood vessels, gathering into a deep blackness around the eye sockets.

Originally able to strike down Lann in one blow, the Eight Hundred Nuns now, after forcibly taking a strike from Lann's greatsword, had even her sinister laughter choked back.

"Clang!!!"

A tremendous sound and sparks.

The weight, length, and structure of the weapon were enough for Lann to subdue with force!

Old Robert's blade not only directly overwhelmed the Eight Hundred Nuns' naginata this time but even pressed it to her chest!

The head of the greatsword, due to the angle, sliced into the opponent's shoulder.

The broad, hefty blade wedged into the phantom-like flesh, inflicting damage far exceeding all the damage the Eight Hundred Nuns had previously taken!

She could no longer land stably, and her originally leaf-like agile movements now faltered two steps upon landing.

"Oh haha! A brilliant [Single Line Slash]!"

Even though he was breathing heavily and sweating profusely, Iwami Yixin still heartily laughed and praised.

The [Iwami Style] is a free-spirited technique; using a katana or longsword is naturally good, but when facing opponents with large stature or weapons, one can directly use a greatsword for a martial exchange. Lann's talent and adaptability made him extremely pleased.

But Lann himself had no such psychological fluctuations.

He merely focused on the corner of his vision where Mentos set the countdown.

Two minutes.

The two minutes Old Robert exchanged with his life.

Thirty seconds had already passed.

Those cat-like eyes fixed on the ghost mask after landing, like a starving bear.

The exceptional feel of the greatsword and his current state even made Lann want to simply kill this phantom with Iwami Yixin first.

Of course, Iwami Yixin had the same thought, and immediately took advantage of the Eight Hundred Nuns' unstable landing to sheath his sword.

With the low posture of a quick-draw slash, he suddenly closed the distance.

This was the opening move of the [Iwami Cross Slash].

With Iwami Yixin's proficiency, it's not difficult to decapitate the opponent with a single slash while they're off balance!

But subsequently, in Lann's expectant gaze, that eerie, sharp laughter rang out again.

Several replicas identical to the Eight Hundred Nuns in appearance, only colored in ink-black, emerged like reflections pulled from water.

An unknown magic effect.

The Demon Hunter gripped the hilt of the greatsword firmly, his peripheral vision continuously scanning.

This is why he hadn't considered swiftly eliminating the Eight Hundred Nuns—

As the highest-ranking figure, it's impossible she didn't have strange and unusual contingencies.

After all, even the seemingly remorseful Immortal Peak Master had Undying Insects on him that were no ordinary creatures.

As the head of Vajra Mountain, it's entirely normal for her to know some magic.