Bear School Astartes

The [Combat Skills] were a unique power that Lann witnessed back in the Flame World.

Warriors imprinted the essence of their pinnacle technique onto their weapons using their Power of Soul and experience.

It allowed them to maintain peak performance as long as their bodies could still move.

Moreover, various [Combat Skills] themselves were created by these genius warriors.

Each possessed unique effects or immense power.

The [Combat Skill: Iaido] that Lann now used was from a swordsmanship master he once briefly encountered.

At that time, he had just acquired the [Parry Dagger] from a malicious Soul Body and learned about the [Combat Skill: Parry] on it.

He later gave this dagger to Ciri at Ker Morhan.

After obtaining the dagger, he soon saw with his [Spiritual Vision] the [Combat Skill] left by the swordsmanship master on his weapon.

[Iaido], as an attack method, didn’t stand out much in Lann’s rich technical system.

But because at that time Lann had just learned about [Combat Skill: Parry], he acutely discovered that the [Iaido] combat skill had aspects interconnecting with [Parry].

Thus... it evolved into the current move!

Precisely and subtly incorporating his own strength into the enemy’s movements, causing the enemy’s force to hinder their own action!

The Lady of the Lake’s Sword, executing [Iaido], left a supernatural afterimage in the air.

This was proof that the technique transcended ordinary skills and entered the supernatural realm!

With a dull collision sound, even the Old Hunter who had begun to transform into a beast couldn’t help but widen his turbid and scattered eyes.

His sword-wielding posture completely distorted.

Even a complete outsider who had never held a sword wouldn’t chop with such an awkward stance.

The Old Hunter’s body, amidst completely chaotic movements, lost control, and both legs slightly gave way, causing him to bend his knees.

His beast slicing knife in his right hand was directly knocked aside, and the left hand holding a gun hung powerlessly.

"You seem to enjoy doing this while hunting, right?"

After disarming the opponent’s weapon and disrupting the Old Hunter’s stance, Lann moved the long blade in his right hand to his left.

Meanwhile, his hand, wearing the [Smaug] gauntlet, formed a claw shape with a cold voice.

Forward thrust!

"Puchi!"

[Vital Organ Strike]!

Bone-white small dragon scales layered, forming the fingertips of [Smaug] gauntlet.

The dragon’s scales undoubtedly had performance far superior to steel.

Thus when Lann’s fingertips penetrated the Old Hunter’s coat and flesh, it was like a hot knife through butter.

In an instant, a large amount of blood exploded from the Old Hunter’s chest and abdomen like a burst water balloon!

Lann’s entire right arm was dyed red with the now fetid blood.

The Old Hunter’s mouth opened wide on the spot, his eyeballs bulging as if they were about to pop out, but the enormous physical damage rendered him incapable of even screaming.

Immediately following, Lann did as Maria once did to a white-robed clergy member.

His hand clawed with the [Smaug] gauntlet violently pulled sideways!

Coat, skin, flesh... just like a grotesque disembowelment, Lann’s hand nearly cleaved open the Old Hunter’s entire chest and abdomen!

After the lateral pull, the demon hunter’s fingertips withdrew from the opponent’s body.

At this moment, the Old Hunter’s uncontrollable body finally adjusted back from chaotic movement, able to naturally collapse backward.

Generally speaking, having one’s chest and abdomen cleaved open to such an extent should rob one of any ability to scream.

The body of a normal creature couldn’t possibly endure such damage.

However, the Old Hunter afflicted by the beast transformation disease... couldn’t be considered a ’normal creature’ at all.

Lann’s arm bracer still dripped with sticky and foul-smelling blood.

But the Old Hunter, collapsing backward, seemed unable to feel any pain after being struck.

He merely muttered a low growl, with Lann’s hand claw having cleaved him open so that ribs and oozing flesh could be seen sliding down, and the side ribs had an enormous wound directly visible from the front to the back...

He was about to use one hand to prop himself back up!

Different from the monsters of the New Continent, created by their natural and abundant Life Force to be resilient.

And different from the knights of the Flame World, who forcefully locked their body’s condition with powerful Power of Soul, maintaining peak combat status as long as they weren’t dead or lost limbs.

The Old Hunter of Yan’an exhibited what could be called... ’grotesque’ vibrant Life Force.

Life Force derived from [Blood Healing] and the beast transformation disease!

Lann could only describe this sensation as ’grotesque’.

The wound that lost at least ten pounds of flesh, with meaty pulp still sliding down, falling with rainwater into the dark surface puddles.

Yet he felt nothing!

The wound had no effect on him!

And soon enough, the Old Hunter was reaching into his torn coat pocket to pull out a blood vial!

This was also an instinct he had as an Old Hunter—reminded to seek [Blood Healing] after severe injuries.

But even though Lann was shaken by the Life Force he displayed now, he wasn’t so stunned as to be dumbstruck!

His tall figure outside, the dragon scale plates of [Smaug] lightly clinked due to his movements.

The sound was rhythmic, yet full of oppressive force!

With a ’swish’, his boot, originally stepping in puddles, kicked forward.

The boot encased in layered dragon scale plates easily kicked away the hand the opponent was using to prop himself up.

Just as he lifted his upper body, the Old Hunter, who was reaching into his pocket for a blood vial, suddenly let out a ’whoosh’ and fell face-up into the water.

The foot that had kicked away the opponent’s supporting hand did not retract, but instead lifted higher and aimed directly at the opponent’s head!

Lann looked down, expressionless, as he surveyed the Old Hunter who was gasping and groaning incoherently.

"Boom!!!"

A massive force erupted through the stomping action on the ground!

The armor and combat tactics, so different from those of the Yan Nan Hunters, made Lann’s armor appear like a fortress before them!

The Old Hunter, whose body seemed unfazed even when his chest and abdomen were cut open, suddenly stiffened completely and tensed for a moment under this stomp!

Centered on the Old Hunter’s skull, a circle of splashing water radiated out, sounding like the rumble of thunder!

The blood vial tightly grasped in the Old Hunter’s hand slipped from his grip as the wet glass bottle fell into the murky water.

Lann lifted his foot and inspected the pulverized head beneath it.

He wanted to see if the Old Hunter could still move.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed and then he stomped "boom" again on the already fragmented head of the Old Hunter.

A burst of exceptionally copious blood erupted from the sole of Lann’s foot.

After lifting his foot to check again, Lann finally moved his foot away.

A moment ago, he wasn’t sure if it was an illusion, but he vaguely saw a strange worm crawling out of the Old Hunter’s head.

He didn’t know what it was, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be anything good.

So he simply stomped again, and sure enough, another massive splash of blood burst out, completely mismatched in size to the worm.

Only then was it truly dead.

On Maria’s side, the Hunter’s Trumpet Gun and the Blood Nobility’s Fine Worked Firearm interweaved sound and muzzle flames with roughly two exchanges.

The hunters’ fast-paced fighting style, even in internal disputes, was surprisingly smooth and decisive.

Maria was already exceptional among the Yan Nan Hunters, and these beast-transformed Old Hunters seemed weaker to her.

No cunning, no deceit nor enticement, only relying on the stronger body after beast transformation to go on brute force...

After two rounds of shooting, by the time Lann turned his head, the Female Hunter had already pierced her iron-tipped gloves into the opponent’s chest and abdomen for the second time.

The bloody and brutal scene was as if she had completely dissected the opponent’s chest, ribs included.

Organs spilled out messily after losing their constraints, falling into the pool of water below.

Only an empty torso remained, allowing one to see the spine supporting the back through the front, twisting weakly in the water and mud.

Maria deftly dispatched her opponent, yet her expression was indescribably gloomy.

She glanced several times at the empty blood vials lying beside the Old Hunter’s corpse before raising her gaze.

The sound of gunfire and clashing swords and blades gradually ceased in the rain.

Leaving only a short distance away, one remaining Old Hunter and that giant fish-man.

The fish-man’s massive anchor struck the ground with a ’boom,’ causing a small-scale tremor!

And the Old Hunter circling him, bleeding him.

The currently beast-transformed adversary had most of the left half of his upper body crushed by the anchor.

Yet the Old Hunter seemed driven solely by the pursuit and thirst for blood.

Circling around the giant fish-man, using his transformable weapon to injure, sometimes recklessly charging forward with abandon.

But even with beast transformation, the Old Hunter’s physique could never match the giant fish-man, a behemoth that could dismantle houses like toys.

Finally, a ’boom’ from the massive anchor struck once more, driving into the ground, with an Old Hunter caught in between the anchor and earth.

His beast-transformed body sprayed blood outward with every last heartbeat.

But the fountain of blood sprayed shorter and weaker by the moment.

And even after the blow killed the Old Hunter, the giant fish-man could only hold his massive anchor as he crumbled heavily to the ground.

After all, he had been hunted by three Old Hunters for quite a while before this.

His fish-like eyes were vacant and ugly.

His enormous body collapsed into the pooled water and mud, barnacles adorning his skin were covered in muck, the jaw seemingly without biting muscles scraping the ground helplessly, as if trying to cry out but swallowing only mud.

Yet he still struggled with effort to turn his gaze to the fish-man corpses tangled and bound like livestock by the Old Hunters, chaotic and interwoven in death.

Along with the house doused in gasoline, still burning despite the damp environment.

Rain fell upon his slimy skin.

Such an ugly life.

"What an... pitiful life."

Lann spoke quietly, his silver-like hair stuck to his face by rain, his palm gently placed atop the giant fish-man’s head.

The pursuit of aesthetics within him stirred an aversion to this action in his heart.

But on another level, his genuine emotions, those noble compassion and rage inherent to humanity.

Compelled him to ignore the body’s aversion.

And he went ahead and did it.

Finally, with a ’squelch’.

Aron Dite swiftly pierced the giant fish-man’s crown.

His fish-like eyes showed no difference between life and death, yet even now, they continued to gaze upon his village.

The village burning, stained with blood.

Maria silently bit her lip, standing beside Lann.

"You’ve realized it now, haven’t you?"

Suddenly, the Demon Hunter, who had silently drawn the Lady of the Lake’s Sword, spoke without turning his head.