Bear School Astartes

Even though Legolas and Tauriel are as light as snowflakes, the white horse couldn’t possibly carry them up; they had to walk.

Lann didn’t boast to Gandalf; his swift and decisive movements were even faster than the white horses of the Elves.

The battlefield wasn’t large in scope, primarily because the Beastmen launched a surprise attack.

Everyone arrived hastily, with no time to deploy their troops.

Crow Ridge was only a little over a kilometer away from the main battlefield.

Once the three reached the foot of the mountain, they began climbing up in an assault style without saying much.

The Elves were agile and nimble, even more so than the mountain goats living on the cliffs, as Legolas and Tauriel moved with incredible agility.

They often only needed a tiny foothold and some friction to propel their bodies upward, more than two body lengths at a time.

Cliffs that appeared deadly to ordinary people were merely a shift from walking normally to ’occasionally glancing down’ for the two Elves.

Lann didn’t have the lightweight body of the Elves, but he combined immense strength with the operation of the [Light Body Breathing Technique], along with the hook lock on his projector.

While he wasn’t as fluid as the Elves, his movement efficiency was still high.

The surprise mountain assault by the Elves and Demon Hunter was unexpected and stealthy.

But as Lann anticipated, relying on the enemy’s negligence on the battlefield was foolish.

In the seventh minute of their highly efficient climb, they had to face a group of guarding Beastmen head-on.

From this moment on, rapid assault transformed into forward combat!

”Bam!”

A surge of cold magical energy burst from the Demon Hunter’s forward-thrusting palm.

On the narrow mountain path, a group of Beastmen were suddenly pushed backward without warning.

In the chaos of shrill cries, more than half the Beastmen fell off the cliff alongside, while the smarter ones tried to cling desperately to the inner wall.

But even they were tripped by the abrupt impact.

Next, a boot with extra armor plating stepped on the fallen Beastmen.

The muffled trampling was followed by the cracking sound of bones shattering within flesh.

The originally piled-up Beastmen, although mouths were still moving, only blood flowed out, leaving no sound.

It was clear their ribs and internal organs had been completely crushed.

Once exposed, Lann didn’t hesitate for a moment, immediately changing his action mode to charge forward explosively.

As expected, in the extremely short time following the conflict, all of Crow Ridge seemed to be mobilized.

Beastmen with various deformities, disabilities, or excessive growths flooded the paths of the scattered tower ruins!

They wielded all sorts of malicious weapons, eager to harm and brutalize others, rushing toward Lann and his companions.

The narrow terrain was unsuitable for wielding a Greatsword, so Lann only drew the Lady of the Lake’s Sword from his waist.

With a sharp ”whoosh” sound, the bright silver light left a fierce streak in the air.

And like that, the swarm of Beastmen rushing down the narrow passage found their bodies swiftly cleaved apart.

Few things can withstand the blade of Aron Dite even for an instant.

After swinging his sword, Lann instinctively shifted half-step sideways.

Immediately, an arrow moving at a speed that stung the skin with its accompanying air stream shot through Lann’s drifting silver hair, penetrating three Beastmen straight, pinning two more to the corner wall.

Legolas, who fired the Bow and Arrow, turned to his rear the instant the arrow was released, and shot an arrow at a Beastman approaching from behind, at point-blank range between the eyes.

Beastmen were now swarming from all sides, fully surrounding them.

There’s no time to delay; pausing for even half a second would allow more Beastmen to encircle them.

Continuous assault and movement were necessary.

”Follow me!” Lann shouted without looking back, then abruptly launched himself forward!

A dozen Beastmen gathered at the passage corner, but before the charging Demon Hunter, the Beastmen’s bodies could only produce a dull ’bump.’

Lann’s powerful body thrust his shoulder forward, using it as a ram, directly pushing into them!

Though initially crowded, the dozen Beastmen were reduced to occupying half the space after the head-on collision by the Demon Hunter!

A portion of the Beastmen’s bodies were now pressed into the bodies of others.

Over a dozen Beastmen gaped, seemingly about to bulge their eyes out, but no longer able to draw breath.

Huddled together, they couldn’t untangle themselves.

Lann didn’t pause; the reaction force from the collision was insignificant against the [Tendon Coil] spread throughout his body.

”Something’s wrong!”

Having just broken a path through, Lann shouted.

”They’ve assembled way too fast!”

The scene was as Lann expected, but how could the Beastmen have assembled this quickly?

From their first skirmish with the guards, until now, with enemies swarming into the narrow passage... was there even a half-minute gap?

This level of personnel deployment and response speed was entirely inconsistent with the estimate Lann and Mentos had for Beastmen’s organization!

There must be something awry!

Lann thought, while inside his brain, Mentos was also proposing various possibilities.

Breaking through the congested and narrow mountain path, the leading Lann raised his head.

Within the tower cluster of Crow Ridge, atop the highest tower, a pale and calm Beastman with one hand missing was grinning at them.

”But this is our only chance now!”

Legolas shouted in response from behind Lann.

”Gondarba’s army is almost here!”

The Elf was right; before the Beastmen reinforcements arrive and cause greater casualties, this was the best chance to end the war.

Though unable to pinpoint the unusual feeling’s cause, Lann still focused on the pale Beastman on the ruined tower, progressing forward.

But just as Lann took only a couple of steps.

His keen eyes captured Azog cackling on the tower and speaking two sentences.

The first, ”Ah, you’ve come for me, Dragon Slayer.”

And the second was...

”Zhao Ge Luyin, he’s yours!”

As soon as Lann recognized the opponent’s intentional words spoken without using the Black Speech, an intense chill shot from Lann’s side straight to his heart!

Acting on instinct, Lann’s pupils shrank as he raised the Lady of the Lake’s Sword on his side.

And in the next instant, ”crack!”

A massive claw appeared out of thin air, slapping against the blade held by the Demon Hunter!