Bear School Astartes

Chapter 800: Chapter 783: Frostbite

The first Wild Hunt member whose skull mask was cut down by Lann was a human.

But the commander in front of him was an Elf.

Unlike the human, the Elf who had been stabbed through the neck by Lann didn’t have the same frenzied, dazed look, as if he had taken drugs or was under a mind spell.

The Elf’s eyes were very clear.

Even though he had the Lady of the Lake’s Sword pierced through his neck, his gaze remained clear and calm, staring at the Demon Hunter who was about to kill him.

It was as if the impending death was insignificant, and seeing his enemy clearly before dying was more important.

And under such painful injuries, he still tried to open his mouth fiercely to say something.

Unfortunately, the knife that pierced his neck had already destroyed the vocal cords and windpipe in his neck.

He could only make sounds of ’grumble grumble’ with blood rolling in his throat, unable to articulate a single word clearly.

One of his hands wobbled upwards, pointing at Lann. But before it reached a sufficient height, it lost strength due to the injury and fell back to the ground.

Though Lann couldn’t hear what the Captain of the Wild Hunt wanted to say, he could easily guess it was likely some sort of threat.

The Demon Hunter frowned, and with a harsh twist of the knife handle in his right hand.

The sharp knife edge that was already piercing the neck was torn into a hole, and the Elf before him instantly transformed into the same state as his subordinate.

In line with the characteristics of the spirit fading away, a cold flame ignited on his body before finally disappearing without a trace.

With the last Wild Hunt member dissipating, Lann immediately retreated back into the inn.

As soon as he returned, the few people in the small inn, except for Belengar, shrieked and trembled, not daring to look toward the door.

They looked utterly terrified by the rumors of the Wild Hunt.

And the trembling wasn’t just due to fear but also because of the genuine cold.

Although the mystical cold accompanying the arrival of the Wild Hunt hadn’t touched this small inn, the Wild Hunt Hounds that could exude cold were all killed swiftly by Lann shortly after emerging from the portal.

Yet, this terrifying cold still made it difficult for ordinary humans to endure, even though the chill hadn’t even approached the outer walls of the inn.

As for the Old Demon Hunter, he approached Lann with concern as soon as he returned.

And he noticed the anomaly in Lann’s left hand at first glance.

”How are you?”

Belengar asked while lifting Lann’s left hand, then widened his eyes instantly.

”Plague above...”

Lann looked at his own left hand, frowning.

His left hand was adorned with armor from the Grandmaster Bear School, with the palm section made of tanned glide lizard leather.

This leather’s performance, like its price, was renowned.

But now... the tanned leather glove, which should have been extraordinarily durable, seemed entirely frost-damaged, becoming rigid.

The palm leather had become so hard that it couldn’t grip properly.

And this was simply because... Lann’s left hand held the Wild Hunt Captain’s Magic Staff head without the protection of the Quen Rune for less than half a second.

”If the tanned Dragon Race leather ended up like this, your hand must be worse off.”

Despite Belengar’s lackluster combat skills, he had adequately completed the series of Demon Hunter training.

Demon Hunters had a set of ways to handle various bizarre injuries caused by monsters, which, while not highly efficient, wouldn’t worsen or go wrong.

The frost-damaged glove was considered ruined, and after confirming Lann’s palm wasn’t frostbitten, Belengar simply used the counterweight of his knife to smash the hardened leather, revealing Lann’s palm.

The frostbite on the palm had adhered the skin to the glove leather, and smashing the leather also caused Lann’s palm skin to crack.

In battle it was manageable, Lann remained calm and measured with his injuries throughout. But after the battle... scream if you must.

”Ow~” he shouted.

Lann bit his lip hard.

”This thing is potent enough...”

”There’s no choice. You’re lucky the frostbite didn’t continue into the muscles.”

Belengar leaned close to Lann’s palm, using a knife to peel away the shattered leather and the frostbitten skin sticking to it.

”The entire palm is ruined, should we head back? To Airetusa for some treatment?”

”No need.” Lann frowned, the initial intense pain was now more manageable.

He slightly opened and closed his now bloody hand, confirming his deeper hand muscles and bones were unaffected by frostbite. Then he retrieved a Magic Potion from the Alchemy Pouch at his waist.

”My regenerative ability combined with the Magic Potion is sufficient.”

”Enhanced Swallow... alright.”

Watching Lann bite the cork and gulp down the potion, his hand began to emit visible heat, and the broken skin started moving.

Belengar’s mouth twitched.

The effectiveness of the Enhanced Swallow is amazing, but this kind of healing... he had truly never seen before.

This isn’t just the potion working; your body is abnormal, isn’t it?

The Old Demon Hunter further confirmed that the bear cub before him probably wasn’t the same type of Demon Hunter as himself.

Seeing that other than the palm, there were no other injuries, Belengar relaxed and started discussing the situation with Lann.

”I just heard the Old Language.”

Belengar, walking past the innkeeper who had ducked under the counter like an ostrich, picked up a bottle of rye vodka from beside him, poured a glass for himself and Lann, and spoke.

”But I didn’t learn much of it well, just vaguely made out something like... ’Ancient Blood’?”

”Was that truly the Wild Hunt?”

Lann tipped back his glass, washing down the taste of the Magic Potion.

”It should be the Wild Hunt. They’re chasing the Ancient Blood, which is that woman just now. I also heard them say ’it’s nearby, at this exact time’... you know what I mean, right?”

”At this exact time?” Being an old hand, Belengar sharply caught the key point, murmuring the phrase, then slowly opened his mouth.

”You’re saying that woman...!”

Though it had been a while since he’d done tasks, in the relatively short Demon Hunter ranks, he’d seen all sorts of peculiar things, so he had an open mind, far more accepting than ordinary people.

Lann also smiled: ”Yeah, compared to seeing her, seeing ghosts isn’t that novel.”

The mystical cold outside seemed not only to possess terrible penetration, but also its lingering chill was hard to disperse.

It was now early summer outside, with strong winds and heavy rain.

Normally, air currents should be very active, temperatures should balance with airflow, maintaining equilibrium over large areas.

Yet the cold mist outside the inn resembled a viscous gel, lingering in Velen’s stormy weather for a long time.

Eventually, the hardened ground started turning back into a muddy state due to the rain.

The inn couldn’t hold them, and when the cold finally dissipated, some stumbled out of the small inn.

Initially, their eyes were dazed, but they instantly shuddered into focus when the rain and chill hit them.

Then hurriedly departed.

Following them, the two Demon Hunters donned rain-resistant cloaks and directly set off on their way.