Bear School Astartes

”Yes, I’m sure.”

The Black woman said weakly, and Lann nodded thoughtfully upon hearing it, but he did not dwell on this topic with them any further.

”You should know that you cannot keep this batch of food, right? The Spartans won’t forgive those who killed the guards of the grain convoy and took away the military supplies.”

The Demon Hunter spoke calmly.

”You need to hand over the food, do it yourselves, don’t resist, I don’t want to lay a hand on you.”

”If you want to take our food, then you might as well step over our dead bodies!”

Driven by the threat of losing the food, the Black woman stepped forward excitedly, and they all summoned up their courage, moving a step closer to Lann.

Though just a step, it was clear that they really had no other way to survive.

”Don’t be foolish, Madam.”

”I just said, ’do it yourselves,’ don’t you understand what that means?”

Lann tilted his head, looking at this group of refugees who seemed dizzy from long-term hunger, and sighed helplessly.

”Keep enough for you to survive, then divide the rest and set it aside, later let my people take it back to the Spartan camp to report. I’ll say what you kept was loss, Spartans will accept it, after all, they originally didn’t even have a bag of barley.”

Adaptation. This kind of action can become an excuse for cunningness in the social system, but under the current circumstances, it becomes a lifeline for these refugees.

”At the same time, remember not to be too greedy, Madam. You need to hand over most of the food, I can’t guarantee that the next ones the Spartans send will make the same decision as I do.”

Lann stared intently at the Black woman leading the refugees and said seriously.

”Caution, prudence, not greed... as refugees living in a war zone, if you can’t maintain these qualities, even if you take all the food, you’ll only be delaying your death. Do it for your children, please learn to restrain.”

The woman pursed her lips and looked behind her, at the refugees she led, all eyes gathered on her.

Finally, the Black woman nodded heavily, ”Thank you, Mercenary, for your mercy and advice. We will comply.”

After nodding at them, Lann walked out of the cave.

He remembered this location, and when Cassandra needed it later, the food from this place could serve as one of her bargaining chips to gain trust from the Spartan Army.

However, when descending the mountain, Lann’s expression was not relaxed at all.

On one hand, the life of war refugees indeed upset him a bit, and on the other hand, it was because of the question he kept confirming with these refugees.

”...From this time onward, Spartan military supplies will suffer more severe blows.”

Lann muttered quietly with a calm face.

Originally, Mercenary Icarus, who was sabotaging the Spartan grain convoys, was working solo.

This was already quite a mercenary with war wisdom.

But this guy should be an uncommon fellow with a brain. When he saw these war refugees, he hesitated for a moment, then decided to let the refugees directly distribute the military supplies.

”He seems to be winning the favor of the refugees of Megaliss, it even looks like he’s mobilizing the masses, sir. If he sticks to this style, then the efficiency of Icarus’s subsequent actions will be several times that of now.”

Mentos followed Lann’s train of thought. This topic wasn’t within the expertise of this biological brain before, but after Lann achieved the junior high school permission level, the improvement in computing power allowed it to progress rapidly.

”If the slogan ’Athens won’t let their allies suffer’ was something he came up with on the spur of the moment, then he might have some talent for speech-making.”

”But I think, he is contemplating far more than just inciting Megaliss people against Spartans.”

Lann nodded, acknowledging Mentos’s viewpoint, but simultaneously, he delved deeper into this viewpoint, letting Mentos understand: what’s inherently not one’s forte remains such.

”The refugees simply won’t cover up their trails, and every time Icarus intercepts a grain convoy, he damages the carts beyond use, the refugees can only hand-carry them. Under such circumstances, Megaliss’s refugees simply cannot sneak away from Spartan Warriors, who are good Hunters. And when they are caught...”

”Ha, Spartans can even lay a hand on their own weak children, you expect them to show mercy to foreign refugees?”

The Demon Hunter let out a cold laugh, and his words matched his icy tone.

”It doesn’t take much thought, Spartans will massacre the refugees who ate their supplies. And this kind of action will make the Megaliss people angrier, but the anger of the weak is ineffective, they have to rely on the strong to turn this anger into power... Athens.”

Finally, Lann coldly concluded.

”Ultimately, Athens will garner more support in Megaliss, and this support will delay the Spartan Army on land longer.”

”Icarus... this guy should be in Athens as a politician. Being a mercenary is wasting his talent.”

”Perhaps isn’t it that he doesn’t want to be an Athenian politician, but lacks Athenian citizenship, thus unable to run for office under Athenian law, sir.”

Mentos provided an explanatory addition, but uncertain if it was an illusion, Lann sensed the biological brain uttered a sigh tinged with a bit of defeat.

”But none of this really matters... less involvement in human affairs, feels like things are heating up.”

Soon after, Mentos began to speak less, making Lann somewhat uncomfortable as he patted his head.

By the time he used his climbing skill and [Light Body Skill] to return to Mogala City’s walls once more, it was already evening.

He again came to the entrance of the inn where he spent the night last night and as expected he saw Phoebe leaning against the alley wall, playing with a well-preserved Silver Coin.

”Phoebe, can we continue playing tomorrow? I will definitely beat you once!”

”Of course, see you tomorrow.”

A few minors even taller than Phoebe gathered around the little girl, chatting with Phoebe, as if speaking with her was a way to raise their status in their small circle.

Even when these children noisily passed by Lann, none looked up at this obviously different giant.

Because at that moment, they were still full of talk about ’the new friend met today,’ and how interesting, and different the friend was compared to kids in Mogala City... it’s cool.

”Wow...” Lann looked back step by step at that group of departing children, then curiously turned to see Phoebe trying to act casual.

”I knew you had some skills, but I didn’t expect you were so good at making friends?”

”Just alright, these bratty city kids actually have little insight.”

Phoebe struggled to suppress the proud smile on her face, catching the Silver Coin flicked into the air and stuffing it into the belt wrapped around her waist.