Bear School Astartes

Chapter 115: 115. Acting as a life coach

A smile is a sign of friendliness.

The principle of not striking a smiling face is universally applicable.

But in this situation, Count Steza could feel that this light laugh was definitely not a sign of successful negotiation.

They had reached an impasse.

”You should at least listen to what I, alive, can bring to you before you refuse.”

Count Steza’s once proud and composed tone began to twist with his expression.

He started to feel that the situation was out of his control.

This feeling hadn’t appeared in his heart since his youthful days.

So much so, he suddenly didn’t know what kind of expression to put on.

”Lann, I’m not exaggerating your value just to save my life! You do possess potential powerful enough to change a kingdom!”

”You can appear silently in my study and slam my face onto the table! If this ability of yours is combined with mine, we could change the entire situation in Temeria!”

”Moreover! You’ve only been a Demon Hunter for less than two months and have grown to this level! If you could share the secret with someone with enough resources, can you imagine what that would bring you?!”

”Status, power, wealth, women... These things that ordinary people long for all their lives are like mud by the lake to you, once on your shoes, hard to shake off!”

”Indulging in personal martial strength is an act of a foolish brute, Lann. You’ve seen me, unarmed, and also seen the power someone like me can wield. You must understand!”

”Slaying monsters in the wild for a little money? Even if your rapid growth has no teachable secret and is merely due to your talent. You can switch to another path, and with my slight promotion, you could become a legendary warrior in history!”

”By then, you could be my guard or a star warrior, with a single appearance fee worth more than what other Demon Hunters earn in a lifetime!”

Count Steza forcibly calmed his mood, speaking eloquently.

He was confident in his eloquence; as long as he got to speak, to illustrate Lann’s dilemma, and what he could offer, there was no reason for the other party to refuse.

Through the previous information, he already understood the difficult life of the Demon Hunter community.

It was precisely for this reason that he was even more confident in persuading Lann.

He had seen too many lowly and poor people, and he could see through what these people thought at a glance.

Within mere days, Lann had transformed from an ordinary person who couldn’t even hold a sword to someone capable of slaughtering a guard squad.

Suddenly mastering power that could decide the life and death of others; it’s more destructive than getting rich overnight.

He should have been able to figure out what Lann was thinking... originally.

”First threaten, then cooperate... It seems you people in power love playing this set?”

Lann leaned back in his chair, lazily watching Steza.

The Count had considered various reactions from Lann after hearing his analysis.

The embarrassment of being guessed at one’s predicament by a hostage, the longing for money and power, the inner conflict of facing cooperation with someone you want dead in the next moment...

He envisioned a variety of follow-up scenarios and how to utilize these emotions.

But there was one scenario he hadn’t dared to consider.

— He didn’t care.

Just like now.

This Demon Hunter simply didn’t care!

”When I first arrived, your hand was already hovering over information about the villagers of Auridon. You probably intended to use your position as lord to influence the village, then bind me with my friendship with them, like putting a chain on a mad dog.”

”But in the next moment, my hand slammed your face onto the table. Now, you’re talking to me about a win-win cooperation.”

Lann looked oddly at the forcibly calm Steza, like watching a clothed Water Ghost.

”Did you really think of yourself as something special?”

The Count’s masseter muscle suddenly bulged, indicating he was gritting his molars.

Yet, even under such circumstances, he continued speaking in a calm and rational tone.

”No need, Lann. There’s no need to kill me. If you kill me, you and those children wouldn’t even make it out of this estate! Cooperation might not be necessary, but at least don’t harm yourself!”

Word by word, it sounded more like he was considering Lann’s well-being rather than pleading.

As he spoke these words, Steza’s hand beneath the table was trembling.

He wasn’t sure if Lann noticed this, but when he made eye contact with Lann, he saw indifference in his eyes.

”My Lord Earl.” The Demon Hunter began with a sigh and repeated, ”My Lord Earl.”

”From the start, you intended to overwhelm me with a deluge of information and a sense of crisis to make me yield. You attempted to sell me your philosophy of life, to teach me what kind of person I ’should become.’ If you were truly a magnanimous elder, a wise mentor, that might be understandable. But the issue now is...”

Lann pointed at Steza with a bemused yet amused expression.

”What the hell are you?”

The smile turned cold, and that amusement transformed into disdain and ridicule.

”How many words have you read in your life? How many books? How much cumulative history have you heard that spans hundreds of years? And you want to teach me?”

”You think I’m an unknown Demon Hunter, someone who should be a naïve boy from the deep mountains, so you aim to enslave my mind this way?”

”Temeria is one of the four Northern nations, strong indeed, but when discussing the North, we often refer to the ’Northern Countries.’

Lann sneered as he looked at Steza, this noble gentleman whose thin lips were losing color uncontrollably.

”You said your subordinates can do anything to use me as a stepping stone for advancement. But before that, let’s have a review of geography knowledge.”

”Temeria borders Brugge and the Sodden Region to the south, and if you shift your gaze further south?”

Lann tapped a finger on the armrest.

”There’s Sintra, Lord Earl.”

”A martial nation with a strong sense of crisis due to its proximity to Niflgaard, to the point of developing hostility.”

”Let me tell you what will happen after I kill you.”

Looking at the increasingly desperate Count, Lann’s tone grew more serene and certain.

Just like Count Steza eloquently speaking minutes earlier.

”In terms of the ’legitimacy’ you are most familiar with, the King of Temeria is undoubtedly in the ’pro-South vigilance faction.’ And I, have killed a Count opposing his views. Legally, it’s indeed a grave crime, but in the doctrines of the Northern Countries, my actions are beyond reproach. Because I’m aligned with the King, I hold legitimacy firmly.”

”Then I will go to Sintra, where the nation, because of my actions and bravery, will shape me into a banner-like hero against the South. They love this idea. All that you promised, they can give me.”

”By that time, what can your disorganized subordinates do to me? Launch a large-scale military campaign against Sintra? Don’t be ridiculous. Even you are not qualified to represent Temeria to start a civil war, not to mention those worthless underlings.”

”So what can they do? How much authority do the knights retain outside their fiefs? All they can do is send a few assassins, spend some money on a bounty. But look at me...

”Do I look like someone afraid of assassins?”

Lann looked at the high-ranking Count.

His lips trembled, and his eyes finally betrayed an uncontrollable panic.

”You think I’m as insignificant as the farmers in this documentation, eternally trapped in livelihood, seeing the world as narrow. Whenever something beyond their little plot is mentioned, they can only nod dumbly without daring to retort.”

”Now, with your supreme vision and grandeur, please assess, Lord Earl...”

Lann tilted his head, watching Steza.

”How probable is it for this geopolitical analysis to come true?”

Steza nodded blankly, and then...

With a snap.

A pile of documents in Lann’s hand was flung across the table, hitting the Lord’s face as he sighed.

”So, why pretend to be my life mentor?”