Bear School Astartes

Chapter 949 - 931: White Sign Soapstone and Summoning

Originally, with Lann’s physique at this moment: standing at two meters and five centimeters, the width of muscles and the length of limbs matching his height, he wasn’t abnormally tall or thin.

Instead, it was a perfect balance of strength and agility, harmony in proportions.

With such a physique, he hadn’t felt what a comforting embrace was like for a long time.

His muscles and bones were too strong, so ordinary people didn’t even have the courage to stand closer to him.

Margaret’s hug could only barely wrap around his relatively slimmer, smooth-waisted frame.

But Rosalie was different. Although Lann speculated her soul was damaged, causing her physical form to be affected by the characteristics of life in this world.

She was still a woman physically larger than Lann.

During the embrace, Lann felt as if he were a child, held in a maternal hug.

Yet at this moment, not a hint of amorous thoughts had room to arise in the Demon Hunter’s mind.

Because this was an appreciative hug from a mother upon seeing hope for her child’s healing.

Nothing else was involved.

So, Lann only felt a bit stiff at the beginning of the hug, with his hands awkwardly raised beside him.

But shortly after, Lann gently and comfortingly patted the shoulders and back of the Goddess.

"There’s hope; they’ll be okay."

Lann whispered in Rosalie’s ear.

The Goddess nodded heavily on Lann’s shoulder.

"Thank you... thank you, noble Knight."

At last, the Goddess gently kissed Lann’s cheek as she lifted her head. It was gratitude and blessing.

Afterward, the Demon Hunter stepped back, while Rosalie held the Crystal Holy Bell of hope in one hand and emitted a soft, bright golden light from the other.

She would begin saving her child.

This would be a long process, a great miracle.

No one else had room to intervene.

Even Lann, proficient in biochemistry and alchemy, was unfamiliar with the soul and Divine Race body structure, as this world clearly differed from others.

Lann and Rong Buqiu were the first to step out, while Leonard was responsible for closing the door to Rosalie’s bedroom.

"Yahoo!"

After coming out, Rong Buqiu cheered quietly.

The enthusiastic and kind Elu cat felt joy even in helping others selflessly.

Moreover, in that situation just now, Rong Buqiu sensed the sadness that lingered in the air, making its small triangle ears droop.

But now, those fluffy ears perked up energetically again.

"But all the Divine Race are so tall, meow. In front of the Divine Race, Lann seems like an ordinary person. Ordinary people are just dwarves."

Rong Buqiu chirped lively yet aimlessly.

Lann responded with a calm smile, but Leonard...

"Humans are self-named; in the Divine Beings’ scriptures, we are referred to as ’dwarves.’ Haven’t you read, little cat?"

The Goddess Knight leaned on his usual spot again, beside the door frame of the Goddess’s bedroom.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but Lann always felt this guy had complex emotions towards him now.

A bit of gratitude, but also some... resentment?

The thoughts of religious followers were indeed hard for Lann to grasp.

After all, he was a true materialist.

However, upon hearing this, Rong Buqiu put its paws at its waist and bared its teeth at Leonard.

Since the last time the two of them bickered, they seemed to have been at odds.

"I don’t need you to tell me, meow! Is it strange for a cat to not have read books?"

Thus Leonard was choked by Rong Buqiu’s reasonable retort.

Though his expression was hidden by his silver mask, Lann thought it should have twisted by now.

He bent down and patted Rong Buqiu on the head, calming the small emotions of the Elu cat.

Then Lann stood beside Leonard, also leaning against the wall.

"Why do I see only Maggot Men left here? Where are the Warriors?"

The Demon Hunter inquired softly.

At this point, Leonard responded generously.

"Nothing unusual happened; no need to be so cautious."

"Most of the hired warriors were scared off by Elderidge’s awakening; they left as they might, fled as they could. Nothing to lament; they weren’t trustworthy to begin with."

"Of course, whether they can leave this world safely and how far they can go is beyond me."

They probably couldn’t even get past the Undead Tomb outside the Profound Church.

Lann listened to Leonard’s calm yet mocking tone, secretly feeling frustrated.

Earlier, when he rode past the Undead Tomb on a Qilin, he saw lots of scattered equipment inside, like the Astora Greatsword, a very recognizable weapon. Although he was new here, he could still easily identify it.

It was a slender greatsword, like a sharpened iron rod fastened to the hilt, focusing on thrusting attacks.

"I know what you truly want to ask, Lann."

Leonard said as he glanced at the Demon Hunter beside him from under his silver mask.

"You completed your task and now want us to fulfill our promise, right? No need to be so cautious, as I said: the trust between us is precious, and we won’t waste it."

"The crusade against Elderidge, that’s our agreed mutual aid. The Knights of the Mother of Rebirth will certainly lend a hand. Here, take this."

The Goddess Knight rummaged through the many pockets of his leather trench coat and handed something to the Demon Hunter beside him.

Lann took it and looked at it.

It was a transparent stone wrapped in yellowing white cloth strips.

The reason for calling it a ’transparent stone’ rather than a ’white crystal’ was because it wasn’t very hard, nor a crystal; it felt a bit like chalk or a crayon when pinched.

Lann raised the transparent stone in his hand, looking at Leonard with a questioning gaze.

This action elicited a snort from the other party.

"You truly are a knight from some backwater... This is a [White Wax Mark Stone]. Use it to write specific symbols on the ground, and specific people can see it and dispatch a soul body to assist the writer."

"This is my mark, remember it."

Leonard took the White Wax Mark Stone from Lann and wrote a string of glowing characters on the ground, then wiped them away.

He then tossed the White Wax Mark Stone back to Lann.

"It’s not just me; there are a few decent ones among the hired warriors too. I’ve dispatched them to various parts of this church for defense. I’ll give you their marks later, so when you find Elderidge and are ready to fight, just summon us."

"But... hehe, how many people can respond to you at that time depends on your connections. After all, this is about defeating a Lord of Cinder."

Leonard laughed maliciously.

Lann shrugged indifferently: "Anyway, you and Klimte have to help me, right?"

Leonard’s sinister smile was stifled immediately. Lann was indeed right; even if others dared not fight a Lord of Cinder, he and Klimte, being representatives of the angelic faith, had to join the battle.

Moreover, the Demon Hunter had helped the Goddess find and save her child; if he asked, the Goddess would probably command them to assist.

... Damn!

Thinking this way made Leonard feel even more displeased.

He said nothing, turned, and moved away from Lann, leaving his usual spot behind.

Lann probably hadn’t realized that he had just unintentionally exercised the Bear School’s ’Critical Strike’ trait, causing Leonard considerable mental distress.

He was still puzzled as to why Leonard turned and left. He didn’t even give more information or the promised summoning badges.

No choice, Lann had to inquire on his own.

The Demon Hunter first approached a group of Maggot Men guarding outside the Goddess’s chamber, asking about the warriors defending the church, then searched room by room.

"These are our marks."

In a room in the church, Lann found the ’several decent warriors’ Leonard mentioned.

One was the Thorn Knight, whom he’d seen when Elderidge attacked the Goddess, covered in armor full of spikes, even the shield and longsword were spiked.

The other was a newcomer with a strange tall mushroom-cap-like hat, clothed in yellow with a veiled face.

The Thorn Knight finished drawing a string of characters on the ground and only wiped them off after confirming Lann remembered them.

He seemed much more friendly than Leonard.

"Thank you for your help," Lann first thanked the two of them before continuing to ask, "Do you know where Elderidge might go?"

Having combat power is useless if they couldn’t find the target.

The Thorn Knight, named Kirk, seemed knowledgeable, recounting tales from the Mythical Era as if he had witnessed them himself.

When Lann approached earlier, he overheard him telling stories to the Yellow-Clad person.

The tone was simple yet sincere, as if he had truly seen the scenes of the Mythical Era.

That’s why Lann wanted to consult him.

Kirk certainly didn’t disappoint Lann’s expectations.

"Elderidge’s true homeland is Ilyushil in the Cold Valley, the New Divine Capital."

He spoke in a muffled voice from within his thorn-studded helmet about a Lord of Cinder’s secrets, like stating an obvious fact.

"Precisely because his homeland is Ilyushil, so Ausloes deployed him there to represent Losric, collaborating with Ilyushil to study the Sins of Fire deep underground."

"And now, to satisfy his insatiable hunger... ordinary people won’t suffice. There are plenty of Divine Race bloodlines in the Cold Valley."

"If you plan to go to Ilyushil, you’ll need to find a small doll left by Elderidge in the church’s sarcophagus. It’s a pass through the Divine Capital’s barrier."

After explaining this, Kirk also gave Lann a brief overview of the location and route to the Cold Valley.

"Thank you."

The Demon Hunter nodded, expressing gratitude once more.