Bear School Astartes

By the time Phoebe and Lann reached the place where the sound was coming from, they saw two men lying on the ground, curled up and moaning as they covered their wounds.

It was a small cape overlooking the coast, with a simple stone house nearby.

A woman was casually sitting beside the two fallen men, leaning against the only water well in the vicinity.

Her attire was in the same style as Phoebe’s, a piece of burlap with three holes for her head and arms, secured with a belt, and wearing leather sandals.

The typical garb of ancient Mediterranean commoners.

But the person underneath this attire stood out brilliantly.

Her skin was a healthy wheat color, and as her arms and thighs moved, the developed muscles beneath her skin showed contours on her flesh.

However, those muscles weren’t very large—more akin to the sculptures in Athens that embodied strength and beauty in a healthy aesthetic.

A braid gathered her thick black hair, resting over her left shoulder.

Her features were those of a typical Mediterranean beauty: deep-set eyes and eyebrows as if painted with black stone.

In short—a graceful and healthy beauty.

Phoebe entered as if she was at home, leading Lann casually past the two still moaning men on the ground.

Both wore armor, though due to the era and region, the protective area of these armors did not look optimistic.

Nevertheless, it was still two armored men fighting against one unarmored woman, one of the men wielding a large round shield!

Lann glanced over the battlefield situation at first sight, confirming that the woman had only used the rusty sword at her waist and the broken spearhead on her back.

This woman’s fighting skills... quite something!

”What happened, Cassandra?”

Phoebe asked casually.

Sitting at the well, Cassandra first glanced at the arriving Lann, and then pinched her nose bridge.

”Nothing, it’s all sorted out.”

It seemed her nose bridge had been hit by someone.

”Aha.” The evasive tone was not enough to deceive the astute little girl, Phoebe chuckled. ”Bandits under the One-eyed People; he hasn’t learned his lesson from you yet?”

”Clearly not.”

Cassandra waved her hand dismissively.

Phoebe led Lann to sit on a stone bench where a plate of food was placed.

Pickled olives, bread, pickled rabbit meat... a small plate of Mediterranean flavor.

Yet Phoebe, still holding the bread soaked in seawater, did not touch the food on the plate.

The sound of wings flapping approached from a distance, and an eagle landed familiarly beside Phoebe, who then fed it a small piece of pickled rabbit meat from the plate.

”Icarus, you’re hungry too, huh.”

The little girl seemed very envious as she fed the eagle.

Lann could also tell, this woman must be Cassandra, the one Phoebe mentioned, ’granted a divine eagle by Zeus.’

”Today’s certainly peculiar.” Cassandra now put down her hand that was pinching her nose, speaking to Phoebe.

”You actually didn’t come over to eat my meal, nor did you ask me to plead with Zeus on your behalf... did the Moon Goddess appear during daytime?”

Though Cassandra was talking to Phoebe, her gaze was fixated on Lann standing beside.

”And you’ve brought such a beauty here.”

Lann’s mouth twitched; it was the first time someone had called him that.

But, thinking about it carefully, in the Ancient Greece Era, one could surely use ’beautiful, lovely’ to describe men.

”I don’t need you to plead to Zeus for me, Cassandra!”

Phoebe lifted her chin, giving Lann a wink to signal she would never disclose their secret.

Lann mentally sighed... wasn’t that tantamount to saying everything?!

”So...” Sure enough, Cassandra tilted her head towards Lann, giving a mischievous smile.

”This beauty here can communicate with Zeus? Ah, a strong and mighty figure, perhaps divine blood flows through his veins? Let me think about it, how many have claimed to be demigods in recent years?”

Lann pressed Phoebe’s little head down to stop her from jumping up, speaking with a resigned tone.

”Miss... may I call you Cassandra? Okay, Cassandra, please don’t tease me. I’ve never claimed my blood is noble or possess any mystic power; treat this merely as a little girl’s fantasy about a shipwreck survivor, nothing more.”

Cassandra unexpectedly raised her eyebrows.

”Even more fascinating, if those proclaiming themselves children of gods had your attitude, people might actually take them seriously, rather than just treating it as amusing gossip. At least now, I’ve started taking you seriously.”

”Well, I’m truly honored.”

Lann shrugged.

”By the way, Phoebe, is this the place you mentioned where clothes can be dried?”

Getting the little girl’s nod, Lann turned to Cassandra, tugging at his clothes stuck to his skin, and gave her an inquiring look: ”So, may I...?”

”Of course, if you can find yourself some firewood, that’s best. If you’re going to use what I’ve stored, you’ll need to pay Drachma.”

”Thank you, I can handle it.”

Lann then turned to prepare some firewood with the Aron Dite at his waist.

During this time when human civilization was just beginning, humanity was far from being able to encroach upon nature.

Just a few steps out of human activity ranges led to the realm of nature with its plants and beasts.

People even believed that sometimes gods roamed the wilderness, and even those beasts that seemed stranger than their kind were thought to possess divine nature.

Overall, humanity’s belief at this time was of an unregulated liveliness and closeness to the gods.

Environmentally, dense vegetation and beasts outnumbering people were common.

As Lann busily moved through the woods, he vaguely heard Phoebe and Cassandra’s conversation.

Phoebe mentioned someone named Marcos recently bought a vineyard and asked Cassandra to visit him, coming to Cassandra this time to earn a runner’s fee.

However, Cassandra was very furious about it because Marcos did this while he still owed her money. Instantly, the seemingly strong Aegean beauty decided to have a word with Marcos.

Lann returned to the courtyard carrying firewood, pretending he hadn’t heard the conversation, quickly set up the stand, then started the fire and undressed.

When Lann took off the silk lining, Cassandra, who was still standing before Phoebe with crossed arms and a face full of anger, couldn’t help but approach, whistling.

”Whew~ If you had undressed earlier, I definitely would have given you all my stored firewood for free!”

The Demon Hunter spread his hands, his expression calm.

He recalled, during this era, people’s thoughts seemed rather ’liberal’ indeed.

Then the two men who were moaning on the ground gradually quieted down.

One of them secretly tightened his grip on his sword and suddenly lunged at the closest person to him with the least combat ability—Phoebe!

The bread-holding little girl was utterly stunned.

Cassandra, owing to her perspective, hadn’t seen this scene unfold.

Without thinking, Lann instinctively reached out his left hand towards the man.

”Alder!”

With a ’bang’, the air compressed and pushed, directly striking the man’s sword-wielding wrist bone.

With a ’snap’, the Greek Short Sword fell from the hand now softened like jelly.

Facing the eyes filled with resentment, fear, and feigned yielding of the man, Lann realized something.

”Let me guess... the fellow you mentioned earlier, the One-eyed People, his nature is likely vindictive, strong desire for revenge, fierce and ruthless, brutal, etcetera, etcetera?”

Cassandra and Phoebe nodded dazedly.

Lann sighed helplessly.

”Okay, I seem to always encounter trouble.”

Saying that, Lann walked to the side of the two men on the ground.

’Snap’*2

He stomped and broke the necks of the two men.