Bear School Astartes

Now, Lann held a greatsword in one hand, and relying only on the left-hand claw for mobility assistance was far too slow.

Thank goodness!

”Whoosh!” A sharp explosive sound!

An arrow, trailing a stream of air like a tail, flew precisely into the point in the air where Lann was leaping towards the dragon’s chest, landing right at his stepping spot!

Thranduil stood amidst the ruins, his white hair blown about by the fierce winds whipped up by Smaug, but he lowered his bow with a smile.

His arrows couldn’t pierce the thick shell of the dragon’s chest, but they wedged perfectly into the tightly interlocked scales, a simple task for his archery skills.

The Elf King’s resilient custom arrows embedded themselves into the dragon scales without going further, and that was enough.

The next second, Lann stepped onto that arrow.

The custom arrow of the Elf King bent dangerously under the Demon Hunter’s weight, but ultimately supported him.

Without using the single hand claw, Lann ran directly to the specified position.

His eyes stared deeply at a spot on Smaug’s chest, and then the shallow red fighting spirit light flame on his body burst into fire!

”Boom!”

[Great Sword Technique·Aerial Charging Slash]!

With a resonant and prolonged clang, the red glow on Smaug’s chest was doused like cold water suddenly poured over it, choked back during the dragon’s uncontrollable coughing.

Only a few feeble embers leaked out from the corner of its mouth to provide light.

The dragon seemed to resist Lann’s approach, coughing while frantically clawing the ground with its wings and trying to back away.

It was truly frightened!

Getting its dragon flame, which was almost at the mouth, pushed back forcibly?

The blow made it feel as though the dragon flame, which had freely spewed since birth, had suddenly become unfamiliar, unable to be properly expelled, and simply got suppressed back into its chest cavity.

It hadn’t known that its dragon flame and body could be influenced like this!

The realization of this made Smaug even more broken and frightened.

All it wanted now was to stay far away from Lann!

But Lann’s initial strategy was to never let it escape the battlefield.

The mechanical device of the claw launched out, grasping the ridges of the scales on Smaug’s chest, pulling Lann towards the dragon amid its terrified eyes.

Amidst Smaug’s new round of rolling and smashing, Thranduil and the Elf Archers accurately shot another slew of arrows near Lann’s landing point.

To improve moving efficiency as footholds.

”Don’t come close to me! Don’t come close to me!!”

Smaug’s one wing claw nervously guarded its left chest vulnerability while the other claw frantically slapped in front of itself, shouting as it did.

But with every move seen through by Lann’s [Spiritual Vision], he knew earlier than it where it would strike.

After nimbly dodging, Smaug’s wing claw futilely shattered a row of arrows, yet the next instant, the Elves accurately provided new footholds for Lann.

Throughout this process, the dragon’s bleeding increased, and the starlight and moonlight from above penetrated the clouds ever more, softly and quietly illuminating.

Suddenly, Lann felt a peculiar and inexplicable sensation.

His left hand grasped the hilt of Aron Dite at his waist.

As he subtly drew the long blade, a pure and gentle white light overflowed from the sheath.

Amid the battlefield fighting the dragon, he surprisingly felt a peace coming from his spirit.

After obtaining this long blade modified by Lady Galadriel, Elrond had some comments about it but chose silence due to uncertainty.

Lann himself sensed deeper things contained within the blade.

Now, a strand of starlight cascaded down and connected with Lann’s long blade.

In this night filled with dark blazing flames, it linked with a floating, delicate, and unbreakable beam of light.

A beautiful poem naturally emerged in Lann’s mind, softly recited by him.

”To honor Earyendil,

The brightest among the stars.

Rising from the land of Central Province,

To the vault of heaven.”

Lann gazed at the long blade in his hand, which shimmered with a gentle, pure radiance, his expression somewhat bewildered.

Yet his bewilderment did not affect the light’s effect.

”Ah!!!”

A scream like never before came from Smaug’s mouth; even the scream when Lann tore off half of its wing was not half as intense as now!

Its usual rolling and chest-pounding movements stopped painfully; the entire enormous dragon body froze! It fell, maintaining a belly-up posture.

And this was merely because the soft glow of the Lady of the Lake’s Sword approached Smaug’s body just slightly.

This faint light seemed far superior to any weapon; any evil thing that approached would suffer merciless burning.

The dragon scales on Smaug’s chest, which black arrows could only chip away at, became fragile like crispy biscuits under this gentle glow.

”Is that... the light of the Great Star of Hope?!”

The elves in the distance were stunned, staring dazedly at the thin band of light descending from the sky, linking to the long blade in Lann’s hand.

Elves are beings fond of light, but the light they delight in differs; the elves of the Woodland Kingdom love starlight more and are more familiar with it.

Earyendil, the Great Star of Hope in the sky.

He was originally a Half-Elf, mixed blood of human and elf, who bravely endured the hardships destiny gave in the First Era and overcame them.

Ultimately, wearing the most precious treasures of this world on his forehead—one of the three Elven Gems, he defeated the first winged evil dragon created by Morgoth, also the strongest, largest evil dragon, Ankala Gang.

His achievements were praised by the Villa and given a mission; finally, he and his white ship rose to the heavens to wander and guard, becoming a star together with the Elven Gems, that is—Earyendil.

In this world, very few still carry the Light of Airendil, as in a vial held by Lady Galadriel.

This brilliance is so precious that Elrond dared not speculate or relay it without certainty.

Anything evil under the light of the Elven Gems should experience painful burning, no matter who, even Morgoth couldn’t escape!

”No! This isn’t fair!”

Smaug seemed to suddenly understand its fate, its long neck striving upward, roaring at the sky with only the moon and stars.

”This isn’t fair!!!”

”What then is fair?”

Lann didn’t look much at the long blade in his hand; he simply raised the greatsword in one hand, striking a ’thud’ against Smaug’s glowing chest.

Knocking its dragon flame back.

Beneath the scorching light of Airendil, this strike directly drove the broad blade half a meter into the beast’s flesh!

And this holy, pure light continued to roast Smaug’s chest shell.

”Those you’ve eaten and burned, did they ever say it was unfair?”

”I’ve seen beasts so fierce they command respect, and villains who never repented even unto death. They may not be as strong as you, Smaug. But surely, you are far more disgusting than any of them!”

”You have no will, no persistence, fleeing immediately at the appearance of injury, seeking revenge on those weaker afterwards...”

The Demon Hunter’s voice remained calm, devoid of delight or waves.

For he intended to kill Smaug already; now revealing, uncovering the secret of this blade simply made it faster, more convenient.

”In my eyes, you’re nothing but a thug with the power of a dragon, a piece of filth, not even a gang leader! Because even gang leaders know perseverance is key to rising!”

”And those dwarves and human heroes slaughtered because of this despicable gap in power, did they ever cry unfair?”

With a ’puff’, the Lady of the Lake’s Sword, emitting a luminous glow, was held backward by Lann, easily stabbing into the scales on the dragon’s chest.

Even before Smaug’s cries could escape, the massive, broad, savage sword of Muddy Stream·Destruction impaled the same spot alongside the Lady of the Lake’s Sword.

The over three-meter-long greatsword was plunged by Lann, leaving only the hilt visible.

”You’re close to death, can’t you die with a little dignity, you vermin?”

Returning viciously the insults thrown at him earlier, Lann raised his hand and wiped the dragon’s blood from his face.

As the Demon Hunter looked up at the starry sky, Smaug’s eyes, so bright with throat flames, dimmed to cold, gray darkness.