Bear School Astartes

Lann watched with interest as the arrows shattered and bounced off right in front of him.

This archery skill, although not as breathtaking as Elrond’s fleeting shot back then, was undeniably extraordinary.

At least an ordinary human would never truly be able to perform it under sudden circumstances in their lifetime.

So the archer was indeed not human.

A rustling sound echoed from the tall trees.

Many agile and light figures suddenly emerged from different places.

They had smooth long hair, with pointed ears peeking from beneath the hair.

Seated on horseback, Lann glanced around, reminiscent of the meeting with the tree spirits in Brook Leon Forest.

Even behind those thin saplings that logically couldn’t hide a person, an elf emerged mysteriously.

This indeed aligned with Radagast’s description of this forest: it was a forest entwined with various magic.

The elves’ magic, the woodland’s magic, the demon technique of Dorguldu...

Leading the group was a pair of elves, a male and a female, the male with light golden hair, handsome even among elves. The female had red hair, and the male clearly took the lead.

”That’s an excellent horse,”

said the male elf with light golden hair as he approached with his bow while many elves aimed their arrows at the stranger.

His face showed admiration and a ’close call’ expression.

”You also possess excellent archery skills.”

Lann, sitting on horseback, graciously bowed slightly.

The male elf nodded, seemingly appreciating Lann’s calm demeanor despite being pointed at by so many elf archers.

Though it was hard to say how much of this was related to Lann’s face being more beautiful than most elves.

”I had no intention of harming this fine horse; it was truly an accident.”

The male elf explained, and Lann nodded.

”I could see that; your arrow’s trajectory clearly indicated your intention.”

”Oh?” The mention made the male elf squint his eyes and raise his eyebrows, halving the friendliness he previously showed.

The handsome features grew sharp.

”Are you saying, you clearly saw through my arrow? Is that what you mean?”

”Legolas,” the red-haired female elf behind him patted the male elf’s arm, quietly reminding, ”This person is quite peculiar, don’t get too close.”

Legolas tilted his head to look.

Rong Buqiu stood vigilantly on the saddle behind Lann.

While Qilin’s bluish-purple crystal-like horn gleamed in front of Legolas.

”As a traveler, indeed quite peculiar,”

he paused, speaking in a routine manner.

”Please inform me why you intruded into the Woodland Kingdom? Who are you, and what is your purpose?”

”I didn’t intend to, nor did I know I had intruded into the Woodland Kingdom, dear Elf Lord.”

Lann soothed the Qilin’s mane, helping it relax.

”I simply intended to reach Long Lake Town to find a group of dwarf friends; I lost track slightly during my journey. Strictly passing through.”

”A group of dwarves?” Legolas chewed on the words and called the red-haired female elf behind him. ”Tauriel.”

The two elves huddled together, speaking in hushed elven tones.

Lann looked around from horseback, seemingly unable to understand.

But on his retina, Mentos was displaying the conversation subtitles.

Legolas inquired in a hushed tone, ”Dwarves? Are there dwarves passing through our territory?”

”I don’t know,” the female elf said, frowning, ”The patrol also doesn’t know. If this is true, then someone must have led these dwarves through the Dark Forest. Someone extraordinary, who is not afraid of the magic within the forest.”

”A wizard or someone possessing some treasure,” Legolas asserted. ”But that can be set aside for now... A group of dwarves, perhaps this explains why there are suddenly more beastmen within our territory.”

”The beastmen’s hatred of dwarves matches perfectly with the dwarves’ hatred of beastmen. They wish the other dead without a trace, even at any painful cost.”

”These daring beastmen who’ve invaded our lands must be chasing the dwarves as assassins!”

”Now these evil entities are growing bolder,” Tauriel expressed worriedly to Legolas.

”Ugoliant’s offspring, those giant spiders dare to ravage from Dorguldu all the way to our territory, and now even beastmen run rampant.”

”If the source isn’t controlled and this continues, it’s only a matter of time before something major happens!”

Concern was also on Legolas’ face, but facing Tauriel’s earnest gaze, he only turned his head away and sighed.

”These matters... Ultimately, it’s up to the father king’s decision. There’s nothing you or I can do.”

Tauriel fell silent too.

Lann listened unintentionally, seemingly the Elf King of the Woodland Kingdom was a conservative sort.

The current scenario, external threats infiltrating the kingdom were increasing, but his strategy seemed confined to domestic clearance only.

Without any intention to solve the fundamental issue externally.

”Then this peculiar human...”

The two elves still wanted to discuss something, but at this moment, Lann’s face suddenly turned to the side.

With a ”screech,” a sharp scraping sound, the Demon Hunter’s hand clenched into a fist, stopping in front of his face.

This sound and action abruptly shifted the attention of Legolas and Tauriel to Lann. They subconsciously gripped their longbows into a stance ready for battle at any moment.

The elves around, who had been drawing their bows and pointing at the Demon Hunter, also instantly became more dangerous in their gazes.

It was as if arrows would leave the bowstrings any moment, flying to strike the target.

However, Lann seemed indifferent to these dangerous eyes and cautious attitudes.

”Is this also your arrow?”

In the palm of the Demon Hunter’s clenched fist, a dark, twisted, and coarse arrowhead was clutched tightly!

Legolas instinctively reacted almost immediately, making a judgment about the direction the arrow had come from almost as a muscle response.

And followed the trajectory back with an arrow.

The elf’s movements were fluid as a stream, watching him shoot was like watching a dance and art.

Legolas didn’t even have time to directly see where the arrow came from and its trajectory, but based on Lann’s intercepting move, the arrow released from his bowstring flew through the branches and leaves.

With a ”whoosh,” it disappeared into the forest.

And soon after... ”Ow~ poof!”

What should have been a ferocious roar turned into a muffled cough as the arrow pierced its flesh, losing its force at the end.

The dull thud of a body falling onto the forest humus was heard a beat later.

”Enemy attack!” the red-haired female elf Tauriel shouted. ”It’s an orc’s arrow!”

Legolas’ arrow, following the trajectory back, only delayed the enemy’s first attack. Finally, an unpleasant roar still came from the forest.

”Kill them! Kill them all!”

It was an orc with a deformed lump on its mouth, making its voice both unpleasant and sharp.

”Kill... ughh!”

An orc arrow that had been shot out earlier and later caught barehanded, after a simple acceleration through the projector, pierced through its unsightly mouth and protruded out from the back of its head.

”Temporary cooperation?”

Lann tilted his head at the two elves below after lowering his left hand.

”Suit yourself, stranger,” Legolas replied while shooting arrows. His firing speed was beyond what a normal person could match. ”Just don’t expect the elves to come rescue you!”

”Is that advice?” Lann nodded earnestly. ”I’ll remember it.”

In the distant forest, skin gray-black and filthy, with sturdy orcs rushing in, haphazardly equipped with pieced-together crude armor made of iron plates and even draped with tattered animal hides and burlap!

”So many?” Tauriel’s bow made a vibrant sound, her shot traced a huge arc, bypassing an elf to hit an orc attempting a stabbing attack from behind.

”At least three hundred here! Has the Dark Forest turned into a sieve?!”

”Fight first, Tauriel!”

Legolas called out, and all the elves, with great experience, began utilizing the terrain to battle the numerically superior orcs.

Their bodies, as Elrond described, were incredibly light.

In the complex and intertwining branches of the giant trees, they could run as they pleased, easier even than humans jogging on flat dirt paths.

Even the elves who had just descended from the treetops only needed to take two or three running steps, then with two or three steps on the tree trunks, float up seven or eight meters high into the canopy!

Without even using their hands.

Compared to them, even monkeys climbing trees seemed slow and clumsy.

Every elf was a master archer, with Legolas being a master among masters.

Just a dozen of them managed to create a rain of arrows over three hundred orcs!

The orcs also had dozens of archers, but they often didn’t even get the chance to draw bows and notch arrows before the elves’ experienced eyes and sharp instincts already locked onto them, sending them precisely down to hell with arrows.

Under normal circumstances, given their superior terrain and strength, even if the elves couldn’t eliminate all three hundred orcs, ensuring their own retreat was more than enough.

But the situation now was clearly unusual.

”Awoo!”

The fierce roars of beasts came, their heavy paw steps approaching fiercely.

All the elves’ faces changed simultaneously!

”Wargs!”

They shouted, and behind the dense pack of orcs, a dozen or more gigantic wolves taller than ordinary orc heads were nimbly leaping among the trees and rocks.

Legolas observed the trajectory of the wargs, and suddenly, as if realizing something, shouted!

”Change location! Jump off the original tree!”

Their massive jaws were enough to snap arm-thick branches in one bite, and with their huge muscle mass, just one rush could shake the trees held by a person tightly.

If it were in the Dark Forest, the trees there, needing even more than two people to encircle, were rare and young, all over a meter or two in diameter.

Enough to break the wargs’ teeth, or at least bump them senseless.

But here... wasn’t within the Dark Forest!

Here was just a small grove extending from the forest edge!