Bear School Astartes

The steps in front of the Church Town Cathedral had already been constructed with grandeur during this era.

Scattered clergy stood near the door outside the cathedral.

They were clearly ordered to guard the door here, preventing anything inside from coming out, while also ensuring that no one, including themselves, saw what happened inside.

That was the deepest, most untouchable secret of the Healing Church.

All those who knew the secret would be cleansed, just like the last human-like howl Archbishop Lawrence uttered before.

But these clergymen assigned to guard the door couldn’t possibly stop Lann.

”Bang! Bang!”

At the end of the staircase leading upwards, the luxurious and heavy door of the cathedral continued to tremble, emitting sounds of impact from inside.

And above the steps, there was a ”sizzle” sound.

Lann’s hand released its grip, the palm that had been holding a clergyman’s shoulder. The dragon scales on the armor of his hand emitted a slight noise due to the change in angle of his palm.

The Aron Dite, with a blade as bright as silver water, was smoothly pulled out from the opponent’s chest.

The splattering blood, under the swordsman’s exceptional skill, didn’t even stain the armor.

The clergyman’s body, released and let down, collapsed like mud and rolled down the steps.

With no one left to block the way, Lann immediately went up to push the cathedral door open.

It was no different from the ”future” Yan’an.

After opening it, the interior of the cathedral was still a staircase leading upwards.

Creepy statues stood on both sides of the staircase.

Heads hollowed and carved like walnuts, emaciated arms holding golden spears, pointing obliquely upward.

Odd and chilling.

But above that staircase, the commotion was extremely explosive!

”Aoo... Aoo!!!”

The violent beast roared, a sound familiar to the demon hunter who had just entered.

Lann stood at the bottom of the stairs just inside the door, unable to see what was happening or the scene above.

But all he saw was, as the chaotic beast roar echoed continuously in the cathedral’s structure, the firelight reflecting off the ceiling and scattering outward grew increasingly intense!

”Boom!”

This time, a muffled collision sound.

A shadow flew directly down from the staircase, hitting the door Lann had just opened.

Unfortunately, the collision spot was supposed to be adorned with reliefs, but it was flat. However, after Lann opened the door...

”Crunch!”

The shadow hit the corner of the opened door, smashing its head.

Finally, like a broken water pouch, it fell at Lann’s feet with the sound of gushing liquid.

It was an old hunter, wearing a wide-brimmed hat that had become floppy and frayed.

Not only was his head shattered, but he also bore scorch marks on his body.

The scent of blood, the smell of proteins being roasted, the strange odors of wood, leather, and even stone being burnt by high heat began to assault the demon hunter’s nostrils.

The beast’s roar, the hunters’ excited low snarls, and the sound of metal tearing through flesh and bone persisted.

But amidst the chaos, Lann seemed mentally prepared.

His expression was calm, as he swiftly ascended the stairs, taking in the full view of the cathedral above.

And the most conspicuous thing where his eyes reached was, without a doubt, a beast.

A... burning beast!

”Woo... Aoo!!!”

Just like when Lann hunted a clergyman beast with Henrik in the ”future” Yan’an.

The massive body had dried up enough to expose bones, while the fur was remarkably lush.

On the wolf’s head grew formidable antlers, one hand withered, while the other was monstrously strong.

But this beast inside the cathedral differed from the clerical beasts Lann had seen before in that it was burning!

Not the kind of burning caused by hunters’ preference for fire, nor from fire damage.

But within its chest, under its skeleton, in its fur... flowing with fiery magma-like heat!

Glowing, heating, burning!

If Yan Nan People’s common sense was: to deal with beasts, use fire.

Lann reckoned that common sense wouldn’t work on this beast.

How much fire could match the heat it currently radiated?

And for such a beast to appear in the cathedral, leading the Healing Church to seal the entire place...

In Lann’s speculation, it could only be Lawrence!

”Roar!”

Lawrence roared, its strong arm slamming the ground chaotically, and after a fierce drop, an explosive wave of fire spread out.

It brought a sizzle of rapidly scorching protein and boiling human fat!

However... no one here screamed in agony.

Or rather, nothing emitted a ’human scream’ of pain.

”Ah... Ah!” Utterly senseless, meaningless howls rang out.

The frenzied hunter, with hair bristling across his face, had already over half his body burned by flames.

Yet he seemed completely unaware or unbothered, wielding an iron ram hammer which he smashed down onto the ground where Lawrence’s hand was!

With a ”boom!” an explosive sound rang out!

The hammer with mechanical structures was a burst hammer!

Crafted by the Yan Nan Hunter Workshop, this transformable mechanical weapon created a spiderweb-like depression on the marble floor of the cathedral, even beyond Lawrence’s claws!

This violent integration of gunpowder weapons into transformable weapons style was invented by a group of hunters in Yan’an, known as the ’Gunpowder Barrel Gang’.

But this clearly abnormal hunter, after causing a series of bone-splintering cracks in Lawrence’s paw, suddenly fell to his knees with a ’thud’!

It was a hunter wielding a retractable Hunter’s Axe just like Gascogne’s.

He raised his axe high behind him, a twisted grin on his face, waiting just while the Gunpowder Barrel Gang’s hunter hammered down and then immediately slashed at his back!

The insane Gunpowder Barrel Gang’s hunter had their spinal bones exposed from within the mangled flesh of his back!

Entirely losing control of his body, he kneeled heavily forward.

The hunter wielding the Hunter’s Great Axe then leaned in, spreading his hand open like a claw!

”Splorch!”

A massive flow of blood burst forth! As the axe-wielding hunter thrust his hand into the Gunpowder Barrel Gang’s hunter’s flank and tore outward!

The hunter’s specially designed glove manipulated the innards and blood vessels, followed by a wild and cruel horizontal tear!

Using a special technique, the degree of blood explosion was greatly enhanced, almost akin to Lann’s Qi Flow Blade drawing streams of blood from enemies’ bodies!

The hunter’s now blood-red and thin tongue licked the blood splattered on the edge of his mouth.

Beneath the brim of his hat, his gaze shone with an addictive bloodlust!

Lann had previously, during the time he searched for his Grandmaster level Bear School equipment blueprints in the magical Middle Ages, crossed paths with high-level vampires and a group of vampiric creatures.

But frankly, even those mindless, blood-obsessed creatures paled in comparison to these Yan’an hunters in their madness and pathological craving for blood!

This couldn’t even be termed as hunters being ’vampiric creatures’; they were driven by a relentless psychological need for blood, aside from any physiological demand...

This was nothing less than... a ’bloodthirsty monster’!

Now, although there were quite a few old hunters in the Great Cathedral, Lawrence was rampaging for a good while because these hunters had themselves become lost in the sweet taste of divine blood!

Now, they had no desire whatsoever to consider anything else, they just... wanted blood to spill!

Their own, others’, as long as it had that sweet scent of blood!

But to Lann, this scent of blood was just nauseating!

”[Alder]!”

”Boom!”

Just as the Demon Hunter reached the steps of the Great Cathedral, his left hand formed a seal and pressed down onto the ground!

Instantly, a ring-shaped shockwave of Chaos Magic Power spread from the point of impact, accompanied by the sound of air rushing!

The burning ashes on the ground, the shattered fragments of stone flung into the air, the scattered pieces of prayer benches...

Were all blown away in an instant by this advanced form of Magic Seal knowledge from the Wolf School!

In the chaos, the advanced form of [Alder’s Rune] didn’t just strike in a single direction, but expanded like an explosive shockwave.

The Seal knowledge retained by the Wolf School, along with Lann’s Chaos Magic Power reserves far exceeding those of normal Demon Hunters.

On the [Smaug] armor, Belengar meticulously applied layers of Grandmaster level Blacksmith techniques to amplify the strength of the rune.

At that moment, even the old hunters already afflicted with beast transformation couldn’t stand firm, and rolled about like a spinning top on the marble floor!

The original flames spreading across the ground also extinguished due to the temporary air void caused by [Alder’s Rune].

The soft sound of metal and alchemy pouch fastenings rubbing together emanated from Lann’s waist.

The bandage-wrapped [Holy Moonlight Sword] appeared in its normal form in Lann’s hand.

And he held it in reverse, and with a ’swish,’ he pierced it straight through the head of an old hunter lying at his feet!

The Yan’an hunters clearly didn’t have a method to combat foes while lying down.

The unwrapped rigid sword blade passed through the wide-brimmed hat and skull, rendering the old hunter’s body limp and lifeless like a ragdoll.

After all, not every hunter had the blood quality of Ludwig, received such high-quality and high-frequency [blood treatment], nor bore the curse of delivering a strike to slay a divine being.

Even having their head decapitated might not ensure their death.

But due to caution around [blood treatment], as Lann withdrew the [Holy Moonlight Sword] from the head, he naturally swung the blade.

”Swoosh.”

The blade, just drawn from the head, sliced through the old hunter’s neck, severing the head completely.