Bear School Astartes

Shooting down a crossbow arrow in flight at close range.

This is not a simple task.

In fact, Geralt became famous in the North as the ”Butcher of Bravican,” and what brought him fame in this incident wasn’t just cutting down seven bandits in the market while wearing just a shirt and civilian clothes.

It was largely because he cut down a crossbow arrow shot at him with his longsword.

Because of this feat, many people simply thought it was just another drunken tale spun by some minstrel after hearing the story.

Demon Hunters can cut down arrows in tense combat situations thanks to their sensitive sensory systems, allowing them to detect the movement of the flying arrows.

With practice or exceptional talent, parrying arrows is achievable.

But what about ordinary people?

The speed of arrows surpasses the lateral movement speed of normal human sight.

Only someone standing far away could capture the flying arrow visually with ease. But as the target being shot at, the person involved definitely can’t keep such a distance.

And the wind-breaking sound of the arrow, whether it brushes by or is already embedded, is merely like a leaf blown by the wind suddenly past one’s side.

It’s a noise that’s vague enough to be ignored.

Swordsmen who can block crossbow arrows with a sword... they undoubtedly have the capability to face off against Demon Hunters single-handedly and cause harm!

After shooting the crossbows simultaneously in that instant, the two Demon Hunters and their two opponents simultaneously threw down their handheld crossbows.

In a battle of this intensity, trying to reload would be suicide.

The swords on the backs of the two Demon Hunters were drawn simultaneously.

The dark, wave-pattern sword blades didn’t reflect light ferociously, instead, they emitted a sense of oppression.

Ged persistently followed the Bear School’s hard-hitting approach, charging straight through the barred gate of the small courtyard of the inn like a brute bull.

Geralt followed closely, breaking through the gap.

The man with the cloth hat was the first to face Ged as he charged forward, with the anesthetic powder making him wildly excited and agile right now.

The longsword at his waist was unsheathed, lightly and swiftly striking the side of the Bear School Valerian Steel Sword, a slash that originally had such an imposing force it seemed it could split someone in half at one glance.

The real force applied to the opponent’s sword was suddenly reduced to less than two-tenths.

Even though Bear School Demon Hunters usually exceed the average level in strength, they can’t possibly kill a skilled swordsman with only two-tenths of their strength.

The two swords emitted fierce sparks of iron clashing.

But both swordsmen remained unscathed.

Harris, having just parried a crossbow arrow, with a short sword in one hand and a one-handed sword in the other, grinned as he tried to reach Ged’s back and gain a rear position.

But Geralt executed an upward strike, nearly opening Harris’s abdomen, forcing him aside.

Ged faced the leader of this small group, who, judging by reaction speed and skill, was likely the strongest among them.

So Geralt unhesitatingly intercepted the other approaching opponents.

One wielding a bastard sword, and this one wielding dual swords.

Geralt is a veteran Demon Hunter with experience traveling far and wide.

His sword fighting experience is something that ordinary people might never match in their lifetime; this is the advantage of being a long-lived species.

The dual swordsman looks intimidating, wielding a pair of steel weapons with dizzying skill.

The approaching sword blade might retract halfway, and while you focus on this sword, another blade swiftly approaches from a blind spot.

This is the fundamental style of dual swords.

If an ordinary swordsman or Demon Hunter faced a dual swordsman’s style, they usually would first undergo a period of suppression before adapting.

But Geralt relied on his experience to adapt instantly.

”Dual swords... easier to handle than expected.”

Geralt’s masseter muscles quietly bulged; this is the facial compensation for sudden, intense muscular exertion.

The Wolf House Valerian Steel Sword in his hand first blocked the bastard sword slashing at his legs.

Then, in the next moment, with a strike resembling the Bear School’s powerful cleaving, it swung directly towards Harris’s head!

Pure human strength doesn’t compare to Demon Hunters, an advantage.

Single-handed sword blocks can’t fend off two-handed downward slashes. Big advantage!

In this world of physics, even if Ged wielded a sword one-handed, he couldn’t block Geralt’s two-handed sword, let alone an ordinary person!

Playing fancy moves without even achieving effective defense, you deserve to die with your dual swords!

Indeed, Geralt, moments after their clash, struck a fierce downward blow, suddenly causing Harris’s face to blanch despite his florid swordplay.

Even having inhaled anesthetic powder couldn’t stop the cold sweat from breaking out on his face.

Clearly, he’d never imagined someone could adapt so quickly to his dual swords’ rapid attack rhythm.

In his hands, the long and short swords struggled to form an X defense structure to block Geralt’s slash.

But this is only seen in knight tales; in real sword combat rarely can dual-sword wielders successfully create a stable defensive setup under tight and pressing conditions.

Grasping timing and controlling limbs require exceptionally high precision.

So, following the laws of physics...

”Clang~ Gush!”

Steel intersected, and the one-handed sword was pressed down by the Wolf House Valerian Steel Sword!

And that wave-like, smoky blade had already cut into the opponent’s shoulder.

The depth was about half the blade’s width, around three centimeters.

This depth was already enough to harm the bone, essentially making the opponent exit this sword fight.

Yet Geralt widened his eyes in victory from the clash.

The depth of this slash wasn’t right; from the feel... the resistance was much greater than it should be!

The silver pendant on his chest began to shake slightly.

”Damn it... magic equipment?!”

”Ged, watch out!”

While shouting at his comrade, Geralt pressed the blade down hard, then withdrew it, creating a dragging wound.

A move causing more damage than slashing, instantly caused the blade to slant from the opponent’s shoulder blade and cut up to the neck!

Harris’s body slammed into the wall of the inn, rebounded back, blood splattering in the dirty, muddy ground filled with spat-out phlegm.

Geralt’s reminder was timely, as Ged had just felt a sudden numbing sensation akin to an electric shock during a sword clash with the man in the cloth hat.

Upon hearing the term ’magic equipment,’ he instantly and resolutely activated a Quen Rune.

The magic of the Demon Hunters, using the shield form, washed away the magic effects from magic equipment, restoring normalcy.

However, the pendants of Bear and Wolf vibrated increasingly at this time.

A ’crackling’ noise accompanied by an unnatural blue light appeared not far away.

The mixed-blood woman, with her head freshly cut by a razor, bleeding yet still sneering, stood there.

She was a Warlock!

And it seemed she’d taken advantage of the moment to prepare a robust lightning magic!

The Demon Hunters’ magic, in front of even the clumsiest Warlock, is like a candle flame.

Ordinarily, facing magic equipment, the Demon Hunters should be panicking in terror.

But the mixed-blood woman found it oddly surprising that the two Demon Hunters present... were not flustered at all.

They only displayed initial surprise, not showing any fear, panic, or expected emotions.

Instead... they were even reluctant to spare another glance in her direction.

The mixed-blood Warlock held the lightning sphere above her head with a slight bewilderment.

And in the next moment, ”Boom!”

Wood shattered, as if something invisible directly collided with the mixed-blood Warlock’s hairdressing tool trolley, then swept past her raised hand.

She remained stunned for nearly half a second before suddenly feeling an excruciating pain from her elbow upwards!