Bear School Astartes

Three hours later, Niflgaard’s command received the latest news.

The small, meticulously equipped unit they dispatched was decimated within ten minutes and massacred in large part by ’Embers’ follow-up personnel.

The survivors were mostly those who had previously been assigned battlefield observation tasks.

Their mental state was not much better than those who had survived previous ’Embers’ attacks.

Their eyes and actions became jittery and paranoid.

The state of night puts psychological pressure on people, but in broad daylight, the wounds and scenes caused by Lann are too clear, too straightforward, and even more impactful.

This sense of frustration and defeat, when clearly better plans were made but didn’t hold longer than doing nothing, left the Niflgaard commanders in the tent looking at each other, speechless.

”But we’ve gained more.” The Marshal seemed entirely unaffected by these negative emotions, his sharp eagle-like gaze scanning around, causing everyone who met his eyes to lower their heads.

”They were meant to die! Didn’t we decide this from the start? What’s there to be conflicted about?”

”Sending seven hundred good lads to their deaths to get intelligence on the enemy! They followed the plan. It’s that simple!”

”For us soldiers, is there anything wrong with this? For us commanders, is there anything surprising about this?”

The staff team and commanders in the tent, chided by the Marshal, regained their composure.

As for the Marshal himself, he deeply focused on the map in front of him, muttering a name repeatedly.

”Lann of Sintra, [Hunting Marquis]... I should have known it was you, should have known.”

Silvery white hair like molten silver, a handsome face, demon hunter’s cat eyes... it could be no one else!

It’s this demon hunter! Just a mere demon hunter!

Meno Kuhorn suddenly recalled the small closed-door meeting in the Emperor’s study before the start of the war.

This demon hunter, who became famous for slaughtering Steza, was then considered an insignificant ’pawn’ by those present.

But today...

Meno Kuhorn unconsciously tapped the map at the location of the Ring Mountain.

Of those who attended the meeting, Adal Epp Darcy had already been slain by this ’pawn’ whom none of them thought would be a problem!

”Another Duke slain... to achieve these feats single-handedly, we should have known it would be this person!”

”Before him, the strength and violence of a single individual were a joke! But now, how long has it been since he made a name for himself?!”

”I command!”

As the prelude to the command was spoken, a crisp ’clap’ resounded in the tent.

This was the sound of everyone snapping to attention.

”Bring me all the intelligence on the demon hunter! Especially this one! I want to know the group information as well as the individual details of this obviously unusual figure! His social, interpersonal, and societal relationships, mission records... everything you can find!”

Following the Marshal’s orders, the staff and clerks immediately began bustling around, relying on the Empire’s power, resources, and intelligence to lay everything the Marshal wished to know before him.

Meno Kuhorn thoughtfully stroked his mustache, even as the gaps in his iron gauntlet occasionally pulled on his whiskers without him noticing.

”The sacrifice of the young lads was invaluable, gentlemen.”

The Marshal said solemnly.

”In this experimental operation, [Hunting Marquis] discovered that our commanders’ pace has been significantly slowed. In the first record, he could locate them within a minute after they began issuing commands, but this time, he could not strike effectively and first dismantled the lower officers before locating the commander!”

”This speed is perfectly acceptable, a standard a common field commander can achieve through training! Rather than those damned, unreasonable supernatural forces!”

”With the start of large-scale battles, the surge in numbers of grassroots troops will make it exponentially more difficult for him to find the commanders!”

”I don’t know what principle underlies that damned demon hunter’s supernatural tracking and locating ability, nor do I know which of our tools played a role. However, as long as we can block that [Hunting Marquis]’s ability to track and locate our commanders, he will no longer be a threat!”

”On another note, according to the report from the accompanying mage, Laris.”

Following the Marshal’s words, a man who was visibly shaken emotionally paid respects to the many commanders from the edge of the tent.

He was the warlock who twice ’knocked Lann away’ with two fireballs.

Meno Kuhorn’s eagle-like eyes bored into the sorcerer, making him even more tense and uneasy.

”I heard that our mage, when confronted by that demon hunter, first used a magic barrier to hold him off for almost two seconds. Then, even though the two fireball techniques didn’t cause much harm, they managed to push him back a total of more than thirty meters, after which he retreated unscathed.”

”Is that correct, Mr. Laris?”

”Ye-yes, sir.”

Within the Niflgaard Empire, the status of warlocks is indeed low, so Laris now felt somewhat of the tension of facing big figures.

Adding to that was the terror of narrowly escaping death just a few hours before; his legs felt weak, and standing was an extraordinary feat.

”We all know a bit about demon hunters, and the [Magic Seal] they wield, even to the most inept warlock, is as simple as a trick. But according to ’Herman: The Art of Mechanics and Magic Power Interaction’...”

Laris spoke hesitantly.

Because he was the only one in the tent who faced Lann and survived, he knew that in the battle a few hours ago, the demon hunter relied more on his extraordinary fundamental qualities.

During the event, he barely felt any supernatural power from the opponent.

Moreover, when the opponent swung that frighteningly large greatsword, he always felt that the tactile feedback on the magic power barrier was off.

Though the feedback was incredibly heavy, it didn’t really match the apparent size and force measured.

However, present were all military men. Though graduates of the Empire’s Military Academy, the commanders’ disdain for warlocks and anxiety over the current situation pervaded their minds, including the Marshal.

They had no mind for a scholar’s lengthy discourse.

”Mr. Laris, you just need to tell me: did you really hold him back that long and retreat unscathed?”

Meno Kuhorn’s interruption made a shock run through Laris, nearly causing him to collapse to the ground.

”If you put it that way... indeed, Marshal, sir.”

Well, whatever the big figures say goes. Better not cross them and end up in trouble myself!

Besides, wasn’t there a new type of special steel recently released? It’s supposedly half as light as regular steel. Maybe that’s what the demon hunter used, making his sword look big but not very heavy?

In times of urgency, one often clings to a ’so be it’ mentality. Laris was in that state now.

And Meno Kuhorn heard the answer he wanted. He slammed the table, speaking in a deep voice.

”Now, responding to that demon hunter is clear and straightforward!”

”Use the warlocks! I declare, from this day until the end of the war, that every senior commander must have a warlock accompanying them!”

”I don’t care how you perceive these trickster-like individuals, whether you consider them weak and despicable or of lowly origin, in any case! Ensure your command capabilities are not disrupted by a demon hunter emerging out of nowhere. Arm yourself with an accompanying warlock! Everyone!”

He swept his gaze around, meeting the eyes of each commander.

These exceptional military talents embody the Empire’s greatest strength for eliminating all resistance.

”The battle with the northern people is imminent, they won’t grant us much time. None of you can make mistakes!”

”Yes, Sir!” *N