Bear School Astartes

Chapter 914 - 896: Plantification

But Lorenzo decided to sacrifice a knight to buy time for most people to retreat.

However, Lann was not optimistic.

Because from the beginning, the first thing the Demon Hunter heard was the sounds from other areas above the high walls.

Those sounds came even before the current transformation happening to the former Knight Captain.

The same sound of flesh tearing, blood splattering, followed by inhuman roars.

This wasn’t just happening to the person before him; it’s likely that there are quite a few of these creatures in the entire high wall area.

Even if they retreat, won’t they encounter the same thing on the way?

So it is necessary to find a way to deal with this monster.

But where is the weakness?

How exactly should it be dealt with?

The Losric Knights were steadily retreating, but Lann was still staring at the Black Mud Snake Group entangled with a knight not far ahead.

Before the structural weaknesses on the wings of the Griffon were discovered by Demon Hunters and Mages.

A Griffon soaring in the sky, occasionally diving down to prey, was completely untouchable.

Aerial combat was a realm humans dared not even consider.

Thus, a mature Griffon in those years could easily harass a hundred-man team, leaving them in a dilemma, while the Griffon itself came and went freely.

However, after sacrificing many lives, money, and research time.

People realized that there were weaknesses in the bone structure of a Griffon’s wings, and as long as an arrow was pinned in the correct position, or damage was done by other means, this monster would have a hard time flying again for a short while.

Therefore, the monster that once hindered a hundred-man team, in this era. As long as they are experienced, a ten-person team of ordinary people is completely enough to kill one.

The monster knowledge of the Demon Hunters was gathered from many lives lost, combining various intelligence and academic reports.

The weight of monster knowledge within the skills of Demon Hunter as a profession is far more important than common people would imagine.

A monster with a clear weakness, versus one you know nothing about, the difficulty in dealing with them isn’t even on the same level.

Unable to use [Spiritual Vision] to see through this unfamiliar monster from a deeper vision.

But Lann still did not believe he was completely without a countermeasure.

Facing a beast without intelligence yet being unable to see through it... that’s too ugly.

His eyes kept darting over the monster’s body, while Mentos provided more detailed computational support for analysis.

Finally, as the Losric Knight, prepared for sacrifice, had his shield knocked open by a sideways bite from the snake head, Lann’s eyes suddenly lit up!

At the high walls of Losric, because soldiers frequently patrol, and lately the sky has been under the shadow of the ’Bleeding Eclipse’ darkness.

So at the foot of the walls, corners, these positions have small lanterns placed with glass lamps. Easy for patrolling soldiers to carry, with white candles quietly burning inside.

In the fierce conflict earlier, these small lanterns had long been smashed.

Only a pool of wax tears and fragments remained mixed together.

But in a moment earlier, during Lann’s quick scan.

He first instinctively sensed something was amiss, then Mentos immediately locked onto the image he scanned just now.

In a pool of wax tears, a small flame was quietly burning.

Larger than a mung bean, and flickering as if near extinction.

But when the tail of the Black Mud Snake Group slightly swept over that small flame earlier, it suddenly retracted a bit as if cramping!

The retraction was very small, extremely difficult to discern against the flowing black mud-like color of the opponent.

But with Mentos’ computing power capturing the image, calculating light angles, determining distance relations... its tail indeed retracted!

"It should fear fire, sir."

Mentos calmly made the deduction, and Lann acknowledged this claim.

So just when the Black Mud Snake Group knocked away the shield of the rearguard Losric Knight, ready to bite off half his body...

"Sss~"

A burst of orange sparks and heat flow suddenly rushed to the enormous body of the Black Mud Snake Group from the side!

"Hiss ah!!!"

The inhuman roar sounded again, but this time, the emotions contained weren’t ’destructive desire, brutality’... but ’pain’!

Lann’s left hand clutched the Magic Seal, and the continuous sparks and heat flow spewed from it. It was the transformation of the [Igni Rune] he learned from the Wolf School’s knowledge.

Capable of continuously spraying scalding magic fire flow, lasting until the chaotic magic power within the Demon Hunter is depleted, or stopped voluntarily.

The change in the monster’s roar immediately caught Lorenzo’s attention.

The newly appointed Knight Captain immediately noticed that under the flames, this troublesome monster seemed highly combustible.

Though the flames merely impacted one side of it, in the blink of an eye, the whole creature was ablaze.

Furthermore, the terrifying and powerful black mud body twisted, seemingly experiencing intense pain within the flames, causing uncontrollable convulsions and distortions.

The convulsions of the Black Mud Snake Group even tossed the flames from its body to surrounding areas. Many small flames instantly appeared around.

Lorenzo made a resolute decision.

Immediately rushed in with the Greatsword.

The Black Mud Snake Group’s convulsions in the flames rendered it completely unable to attack, and Lann, Lorenzo, along with the Losric Knight chosen as rear guard, immediately acted together!

Amidst them, two had white afterimages trailing their movements, and the brutality in their actions resonated explosive sounds in the surrounding air. They were using combat techniques fueled by Soul Power.

While Lann applied Swordsmanship technique, wiping his left hand to entwine flames on the blade, then dashed forward to chop down!

[Heartless Flow: Flowing Fire Blade]!

Three unrestrained, full-force attacks instantly fell upon the monster writhing and wailing in the flames.

The sound of "sizzling" came from its tar-like, black mud body—that was the sound of weapons cutting through.

"Hiss ah ah!"

In the end, just like the death of a real snake.

The Black Mud Snake Group suddenly tightened and let out its most miserable scream yet.

The continuously flowing black mud across its body slowed to a visible pace.

As the flow of black mud slowed, the entire black body rapidly dried like cement, becoming rigid, with a gray-white stone texture.

The weapon stuck inside became somewhat difficult to pull out for a moment.

Fortunately, this suddenly appearing monster was dealt with.

Lorenzo braced his foot on the petrified monster’s body and pulled out his greatsword.

"This thing is afraid of fire? Good, now we know its weakness."

He obviously seemed to be relieved.

"Yes, if we hadn’t seen it afraid of fire, this thing would have been really hard to handle."

Lann shook his head in amazement, effortlessly pulling out the Lady of the Lake’s Sword and helped the Losric Knights beside him retrieve the lance they had stabbed in earlier.

"Coup, unseen monsters... ah, whatever Losric City has become now wouldn’t surprise me."

Lorenzo smiled bitterly.

"I didn’t realize you were a Curse Master? Well, it doesn’t matter, at times like this, even being a Curse Master is nothing to worry about. You don’t need to hide your identity."

Lann nonchalantly nodded, actually clueless whether a ’Curse Master’ was considered good or bad in this world.

It sounded like ’Curse Masters’, such casters, weren’t particularly welcome?

But in the midst of fire extinguishing, even the stable rules of the world are collapsing, let alone human society’s prejudices.

"I must make it clear to you." Lann grabbed Lorenzo’s large arm, speaking seriously. "I actually heard quite a few of these monsters’ hissing just now—do you understand what I mean?"

After the Prince’s coup, such unseen monsters suddenly appeared in Losric City... even a fool should know this isn’t a coincidence.

Lorenzo’s face changed, one half of his eyebrow furrowing tightly.

Yet he then took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"The Royal Family has fallen to this, involving the power of [Abyss]... fortunately, we found this thing’s weakness."

These unseen monsters are indeed hard to deal with, even for the more than a dozen Losric Knights who seemed helpless against them.

But once touched by fire, this thing would struggle unrestrained in the flames for several seconds.

If the attack waves are appropriately allocated, a fiery arrow or torch thrown at it will make it unable to attack or defend, then several knights can attack without restraint.

A few seconds are enough to kill it.

This emphasizes the importance of intelligence—the more than a dozen Losric Knights could only think of retreat earlier. Now, they’re prepared to eliminate such a monster within seconds.

The knights are fully equipped, besides their melee weapons, they also have Knight Crossbows and crossbow arrows.

Moreover, military supplies are stored in various tower corners of Losric’s high walls.

Among them is something called ’flame pot’, which acts like a incendiary bomb when thrown.

"Let’s go to my church first." Priestess Emma said at this point.

"The church connects the inner city and high walls, and my clergy are still there."

"In any case, heading there can’t be wrong."

Priestess Emma’s suggestion was approved by Lorenzo, and the Knight Captain’s opinion is the knights’ opinion.

Thus, a group started to remain vigilant, preparing to go to the high wall church managed by the priestess.

And once the group left the area assaulted by sages, they truly saw what Losric had become now.

The power elevating the city, looking down from the high wall could only see a sea of clouds.

Many unstable structures collapsed and were damaged during this process.

But that’s not the worst.

The worst is... the city’s people.

It seems that with the coup outbreak, these people who were originally somewhat normal, rational, suddenly became insane.

They seemed indifferent to the collapsing buildings and distant cries of battle.

Like being wholeheartedly immersed in prayer, kneeling by the roadside, raising clasped hands to the sky or bowing.

Only... on their bodies... Lann even thought he was mistaken, confirming several times.

... these people began to grow roots on their bodies.

Roots resembling those of plants.

And on those roots, a viscous black liquid faintly dripped.

There seemed to be issues with these ash-like floating materials.

Lann pondered.

Because a coup evidently shouldn’t affect the residents’ physical condition.

Rather, it was the ash-like floating materials seen before the coup... those previously unseen...

No one had seen them, they suddenly appeared, and residents’ conditions changed drastically...

Considering these situations together, the problem and suspicion are overwhelming.

Moreover, those roots on the residents’ bodies, the dripping black drops, strongly resemble the filth seen on the former Knight Captain’s wound.