Bear School Astartes

The leading knight was a stout man.

His height, when donned with a helmet, reached 1.9 meters. Although he wasn’t much older, perhaps in his early twenties like Lann, he already sported a full beard with flourishing facial hair.

According to the mate selection standards of Sintra women, he would be quite the formidable man.

Whether it be in bed or on the battlefield.

Lann softly laughed on horseback, "Hello, Henrywell."

Upon hearing his name, the Sintra man looked at Lann with eyes that grew even more fervent: "I greet you, my lord."

This was the Sintra Knight who had always followed Lann’s troop during the Battle of Sodden Mountain.

Young, descended from nobility, with a fallen nation and ruined home.

Among the sixty men in the Embers Knight Order, most had this background.

Yet this background, not any different from that of a wandering knight, under Lann’s leadership, became a formidable knight order that repeatedly shattered the lines of the Niflgaard Legion.

Throughout the Northern Countries, after that battle, no one could deny the power of the Embers Knight Order.

No matter how it was calculated, this knight order was indeed one of the top knight orders in the world.

The only difference was which knight orders would be put on par with them by the other countries.

The Niflgaard people believed that the knight order structure under the most elite Alba Division of the Empire would certainly not be inferior to the Embers Knight Order, this defeated knight order from the Sintra Kingdom.

Moreover, their personnel, resources, and warfare equipment development far surpassed it. If a real fight broke out, there would be no suspense.

Codwin believed that the elite Unicorn Knight Order of the Unicorn Dynasty was surely the strongest knight order.

It’s just that during the Battle of Sodden Mountain, the Unicorn Knight Order was unable to be deployed from the hinterlands in time. Otherwise, it too would have had dazzling achievements and reputation.

But these distant musings and rumors were never taken to heart by anyone in the Embers Knight Order.

You could even say, in the common habit of mutual comparison among many knight orders, the Embers Knight Order completely did not care.

Ever since they followed Lann’s lead and experienced firsthand the victory that ran unchecked through the interwoven slaughter of hundreds of thousands on the battlefield.

Everyone’s emotions and spirit were twisted into a single cord, forged into a sharp blade.

And then, achieving the process where every enemy movement and intention seemed to be understood clearly, followed by swift and decisive counteractions and shattering.

They already fundamentally differed from the so-called renowned knight orders.

Only this noticeable difference, perhaps they themselves were just vaguely aware of it.

"Are Lincoln and Stuart in the castle?"

Lann leaned over the Qilin’s back, lowering his body, and asked with a smile.

"Yes, my lord." Henrywell saluted Lann and the Qilin once more, then turned to walk towards his warhorse, "Please allow me to lead the way."

The last time they came, the Qilin had already been introduced by Lann to the members of the knight order.

But oddly enough, even when Lann introduced the Qilin as his battle companion and friend.

The way they looked at Lann and the Qilin, Rong Buqiu became... slightly uncomfortable.

Lann couldn’t fathom what mental collision they had experienced.

In any case, the members of the knight order now treated the Qilin with great respect, which seemed quite gratifying to the Ancient Dragon.

Having encountered the routine patrol members of the knight order, this time when Lann approached the castle, he did not have a Demon-Blocking Golden Arrowhead shot nearby to see if he was an illusion.

But Lann could sense that at the gate of this castle, several obscure, unobtrusive iron pieces were indeed Demon-Blocking Gold.

This bunch still maintained their usual ways... Even with an attitude of reverencing him as if a deity, when acting, they had their own initiative, seemingly possessing much subjective agency.

This made Lann reminisce about their mentality during the war period: feeling a bit gratified yet unable to resist pouting.

"I suppose you have thought some unkind thoughts in your heart."

Lincoln stood in the courtyard of High Hill Castle to welcome Lann, he first cleverly paid respects to the Qilin, then guided the Ancient Dragon to the side.

Sure enough, this time the Qilin did not electrocute him.

Lincoln, regarded by Lann as even considered young among Sintra people. Compared to the last meeting, the fuzz on his lips had completely faded, now seemingly attempting to grow a beard.

But during the awkward phase, the beard was not short, yet not long enough to be shaped, making it look like it burdened his still somewhat handsome face.

"No, I haven’t." Lann casually fibbed, "How could you think of me that way, Lincoln?"

The secretary of the Embers Knight Order smiled at his superior without dwelling on the matter, turning to attempt to hold the Elu Cat down from horseback.

But Rong Buqiu agilely leaped, bypassing Lincoln’s head, landing beside Lann.

"No need to hold me, I’m a warrior meow!"

The little cat standing tall said as it looked up at Lincoln.

The sixty members of the Embers Knight Order simultaneously formed a line at this time, saluting Lann. Instantly, the clash of armor resounded, carrying a killing aura of golden spears and iron horses.

The blue-gold lion flag of Sintra fluttered in the wind, and Lann’s personal emblem had also been recorded and made into a banner, symbolizing the ownership of the castle.

Lann surveyed them.

These knights loyal to him were all spirited, showing no sign of having ever interrupted their training.

When the chief of a force is long absent, it is catastrophic for the army’s control.

But as Lann sensed the collective emotions of his Knight Order and met their gaze, observing the muscle movements of their smiling faces...

He knew that such worries were completely unnecessary for him.

This was the power loyal to him.

Lann did not say much; based on their shared experiences, there was no need to say much either.

After scanning around and nodding, all the Ember Knights simultaneously rose from their kneeled positions with a ’boom’.

Lann pulled a large box from the bag on the back of the Qilin, exchanged a glance with Lincoln, and then with Stuart at the end of the knight formation, before heading into the castle.

It was still that enlarged room which remained tidy despite his absence.

Lann first placed the box in his hands on the ground with a ’bang’, gently tapping the side of the box with his toe, and spoke to Lincoln.

"This is the thirty-two thousand Oren Coins that I transferred back then, now it should be re-entered into the public account."

"As you wish, my lord."

Lincoln picked up his big notebook, which hung like a messenger bag on the side, and made a brief note of it as a to-do item.

As for Stuart, he maintained his expressionless demeanor.

He was like this back in Sintra, when the brutal vortex of war and the constant balancing and sacrificing to ensure more people survived caused him to close himself off.

But now his face was disfigured, requiring a piece of iron to be attached to his chin to keep it intact.

This made his previously cold expression even more unnerving.

He never once looked at the box full of shining Oren Coins, only at Lann.

Rong Buqiu jogged a few steps on all fours, cheerfully hopped onto the little chair set beside Lann’s big chair, and sat obediently.

Meanwhile, Lann leaned against his desk, scrutinizing the two managers from the Knight Order.

"Lincoln, transfer my ring seal to Stuart."

After a silent exchange of glances, Lann spoke up.

"He has experience in managing the Knight Order and has indeed accomplished things. Now it seems his body has recovered considerably."

"You should be... around seventeen this year? You can learn more from him in practice."

Lincoln nodded naturally and immediately handed over the ring seal to Stuart.

Previously, Lann had advised him to absorb more of Stuart’s management experience, believing his potential was not limited to this.

Although he was younger then, Stuart’s body was also severely weakened, so Lincoln had held the ring seal.

Stuart’s body, tortured by brutal acts, faced injuries too severe for a regular person.

His ribs were half shattered, one shoulder blade was crushed, and the bones on his face were only restored to their current state, let alone the sudden weight loss and functional decline during recovery...

To have healed to this extent in two years was quite something.

Stuart calmly accepted the ring seal, rubbing the engravings on it.

"I accept this noble and significant duty, my lord."

"But I must emphasize... my current body is not even sixty percent of what it was two years ago! And two years later, the brothers in the Knight Order have all made considerable progress. I’m unable to lead them completely because I can’t keep up."

He said this, his eyes locked with Lann’s cat-eyes.

"The ordinary human body... is too fragile, my lord. Whether in terms of the maximum damage it can endure, or the ability to recover after being harmed."

For an ordinary person, one wrong move or an injury in battle can deprive him of the ability to engage in strenuous activities for the rest of his life, let alone surpass his former self.

"I understand your meaning, Stuart." Lann sighed, nodding, "You still wish to become a Demon Hunter."

"At least not as fragile as my body is now," said the quietly composed deputy commander, putting on the ring seal.

"So now..." Lann pressed his temples with a headache, "How many of the Knight Order harbor thoughts like yours?"

Upon hearing this, Lincoln and Stuart, who had been silent until now, looked at their superior, the duke they served, with a strangely nuanced gaze.

That gaze was like looking at a character in a drama or a cliché story, one who possesses beauty but is unaware of it.

"Uh..." Seeing Stuart remain silent, Lincoln awkwardly scratched his awkward adolescent stubbled chin, carefully speaking to Lann.

"Are you asking... how many of us see you as a role model and wish to be like you...?"

Lann suddenly had a foreboding feeling.