Bear School Astartes

In an instant, the city gate, hastily assembled by the dwarves after Smaug breached it, was once again shattered by the great bell of the Lonely Mountain!

”Clang~”

The distant and majestic bell tolling was like a testament to the dwarves.

The rubble forming the gate, guided by the dwarven engineering intuition, did not harm the allied forces behind the mountain.

”Aha! I told you I wouldn’t be wrong!”

Bofur, as the engineering master, was the first to leap up joyfully and proclaim!

Sorlin, his face resolute and composed, approached from behind, patted Bofur on the shoulder, and immediately charged out of the Lonely Mountain first!

The twelve dwarves behind him laughed heartily, excitedly striking their armor with their weapons, producing a clanging sound of metal.

Their demeanor was nothing like stepping out of a fortified stronghold into a blood-drenched battle field where they were outnumbered.

Instead, it was as if they were attending an exceedingly grand banquet!

The idea of letting others fight and die for them while they cowered inside the fortress... these dwarves would rather die!

Luckily, the King Under the Mountain did not disappoint them.

He was willing to die with his expedition force!

”Fight! Fight! Descendants of Durin! Fight with me!”

Sorlin wasn’t wearing a crown, nor a luxurious bearskin cloak; his armor was light, worn from travel, dirty, and simple.

But at this moment, Ironfoot Dain, looking back at the commotion behind him, knew in his heart...

This is the King!

This is precisely the King they should follow!

All of the Ironfoot Army witnessed this scene.

Their eyes began to sparkle with fervor and rage, like molten iron rolling and flowing in a furnace on the battlefield!

The dragon stench emerging from the Lonely Mountain no longer affected any of the dwarves at this time.

Or rather, the lingering evil power of the dragon was being dispelled!

The dark clouds covering the Lonely Mountain suddenly parted, and sunlight mingled with the enchanting reflections from the snow-capped mountains shone upon the dwarves.

”For the King!”

Ironfoot Dain raised his hammer and roared aloud!

”For the King!”

All the dwarves, at this moment, felt all discomfort and fatigue vanish as they too raised their weapons and shouted at the top of their lungs.

The Beastman Legion, along with the ogres and war beasts that were pressing towards the Ironfoot Army for the final assault, looked on in surprise at the dwarves, who had suddenly transformed.

The heavy and evil atmosphere that had pervaded the battlefield weakened significantly as the evil aura from the dragon in the Lonely Mountain dissipated!

This change was comprehensive, noticed not only at the Lonely Mountain, but even in River Valley City.

The elves and humans watched in astonishment in that direction.

But that’s not all...

’Whoosh~’

A faint sound of an arrow slicing through the air approached from a distance.

This sound was so faint that even Lann did not notice it; only the Demon Wolf, with hearing superior to the Demon Hunter’s, reacted by glancing in the direction of the sound.

It was this glance that made the fur of the azure Demon Wolf stand on end!

At that moment, it completely abandoned its oppressive assault on Lann meant to wear him down, and instead jumped back hurriedly.

But in truth, that arrow wasn’t aimed at it.

An arrow indistinguishable from an ordinary elf arrow shot from somewhere unknown hit an Earth-Swallowing Giant Worm that had just raised its body, ready to slam into the ground.

The Earth-Swallowing Giant Worm completely ignored such an attack.

Its outer skin faced no reaction while burrowing through mountains and rocks; why would it care about arrows that even elves would consider toothpicks?

But... this arrow was different!

”...”

The Earth-Swallowing Giant Worm, lacking vocal organs, couldn’t howl or scream in pain, but the instant the arrow touched its body, its muscles tightened abruptly!

The sinewy body, capable of drilling through mountains, tensed suddenly, and the enormous force almost caused the Earth-Swallowing Giant Worm to spring from the ground straight up!

Then it crashed down as though causing a landslide!

Afterwards, it curled up and struggled in unstoppable pain.

Lann, bursting out from the yellow sand and dust, still covered in strands of yellow sand, looked incredulously at the agonizing Earth-Swallowing Giant Worm.

”Mistlandir, I have come at your invitation!”

A loud and clear voice rang from the other side of the battlefield, undrowned even amidst all the noise.

Lann blinked in that direction.

In the view that pierced the Netherworld, Lann saw the forms of those dwarves and beastmen.

Even the ogres and war beasts, their forms projected into the Netherworld were merely larger and darker.

The elves, however, appeared to emit a radiant white light.

But in the direction from which the arrow was shot, there stood a tall, radiant elven form!

He radiated with a sacred glow all over, noble and awe-inspiring, his brow like that of a crowned Elf Monarch.

The arrow he had loosed might have seemed like a toothpick against the Earth-Swallowing Giant Worm.

But in the Netherworld, that glowing white arrow had actually pierced straight through the phantom form of the Earth-Swallowing Giant Worm.

Not just pierced, that seemingly insignificant arrow shredded the worm’s body as if the wind it stirred had done so.

In the Netherworld, the enormous form of the hit Earth-Swallowing Giant Worm bore a seven to eight-meter-diameter hole through it, front to back!

It nearly severed the worm in two!

This was the power of directly attacking the enemy in the Netherworld.

”Welcome!”

On the city walls of River Valley City, Gandalf, who had been holding his breath in silence, seemed to finally let out a sigh of relief and laughed.

”Glorfindel! Thank you for your support!”

”I didn’t expect to see a Demon Wolf at this time of year.”

Across the battlefield, the Elf had golden hair and a handsome face imbued with natural amusement and optimism, yet firm strength was contained within his eyes.

He didn’t continue to exchange pleasantries with Gandalf, considering they were on the battlefield.

”Yadanisil, please accept my help. I will clear the obstacles for you!”

With that, he drew his bow and notched an arrow once more.

It was clear that ’clearing the obstacles’ referred to those Earth-Swallowing Giant Worms!

Lann panted slightly and withdrew his gaze from the Elf named Glorfindel.

Yes, the other party seemed friendly, but after all, they were on the battlefield.

Withdrawing his gaze, Lann turned his head, coincidentally meeting Zhao Ge Luyin’s eyes as he turned as well.

After a brief silence...

With a ”swish,” the azure Demon Wolf’s head darted away from the battlefield without looking back.

Lann’s body moved even earlier, chasing after it!

The Wolf’s eyes emitted a yellow light, and the Giant Worms attempted, as before, to shield the Demon Wolf’s rear with their massive bodies.

But as if foreseeing their plan, Glorfindel’s arrows cut through the sky like shooting stars, precisely striking the Giant Worms at the right moment, creating a path amid their stiffness.

”Now, the offense and defense have switched!”

Lann’s left hand reached forward, accompanied by a ’clack’ of mechanical engagement.

The claw of the Projector shot straight forward, capturing the hind leg of the fleeing Demon Wolf!

”Lann!!!”

Zhao Ge Luyin was anxious and furious due to Glorfindel’s appearance, roaring the name of the person behind him.

”I curse you! I curse you to die!”

But there was no choice; Zhao Ge Luyin desperately wanted to flee, but as long as Lann held onto it, it couldn’t escape. He could only turn back to kill the Demon Hunter behind him first.

Fueled by desperation, Zhao Ge Luyin bared his fangs, his claws glimmering with dark light, and merely placing them gently on the ground left smooth claw marks.

If you won’t let me go, then I’ll kill you first!

Without the Giant Worms as a meat shield, coupled with the previous long sequence of exhaustion and Lann’s slight breathlessness, Zhao Ge Luyin felt he wouldn’t take long to shake off the Demon Hunter.

Determined, the Demon Wolf now spared no effort or chance of injury, lunging fiercely at Lann.

Its upper body soared, claws simultaneously slapped from both sides toward the center, as if trying to crush and kill Lann amid its claws!

The Demon Wolf’s sudden and decisive attack coincided with Lann’s forward charge and hook drag.

In an instant, Lann entered the range of the Demon Wolf’s attack.

He can’t block my claws.

Zhao Ge Luyin calculated in his mind.

This time, to escape the battlefield, he would endure severe injury just to ensure his claws touched him.

And as long as he touched him, his body couldn’t withstand it!

Zhao Ge Luyin’s claws were large, and considering their destructive power, complete contact with Lann’s body would essentially mean a wound spanning the entire body.

Almost as if slicing a person to pieces!

And by then, even if Lann’s last-minute counterattack severed a part of its limbs, it could at least escape.

That was Zhao Ge Luyin’s plan.

At this time, the Demon Wolf’s claws slapped toward the center, but its mind was already plotting how to quickly leave the battlefield after killing Lann.

But...

”Did you really think I didn’t see through how your claws and teeth worked, you fool?”

The abrupt voice came from the front of the Demon Wolf.

The wolf’s eyes suddenly widened in horror.

”Boom!”

In an extremely subtle moment, Lann had no intention of slowing down his rush.

He leaped slightly, stepped heavily with the sound of wind breaking underfoot!

Directly pressing Zhao Ge Luyin’s left claw’s back, pinning it down to the ground!

The deft and smooth action had nothing to do with his breathless appearance!

But that’s not all.

”Awoo!!!”

An unprecedentedly miserable howl escaped the mouth of the Demon Wolf, so piercing that the Beastmen hearing it shivered all over.

The ’sizzling’ grilling sound emanated from its other claw.

Lann drew his knife with one hand, and lifted it to block the claw swiping across from the Demon Wolf.

And previously, the Demon Wolf’s claws had met the Lady of the Lake’s Sword head-on without any response... now it was like Smaug’s incredibly hard chest shell, toasted crisp!

How could this be?!

Harmed by the sacred light that naturally suppressed evil power, Zhao Ge Luyin looked at his injured claw in disbelief.

Facing its wolf eyes were Lann’s now deep cat-like eyes.

Zhao Ge Luyin’s claws trembled from the unbearable pain, shaking its entire body.

”Sorun connected your claws and teeth to the Netherworld, your claws and teeth are the ’boundary’ that freely travel between the material world and Netherworld, so they are unstoppable, as they are essentially space cutting!”

”And the Light of Earyendil, only emitted in the material world, can’t harm your claws and teeth already retreating into the Netherworld under your control.”

”You seem to think this ability guarantees you’ll defeat me.”

Lann spoke calmly, even leaning his face closer to the twitching mouth of the Demon Wolf.

And the Demon Wolf’s expression was just as Lann had anticipated.

It was in confusion, disbelief, incomprehension...

It was in fear.

”But how long do you think it took me to see through your ability, fool?”