[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-bear-school-astartes":3,"chapter-bear-school-astartes-bear-school-astartes-chapter-44":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Bear School Astartes",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1620120,2087,"Chapter 44. Cavalry First Encounter Kill","bear-school-astartes-chapter-44",44,"\u003Cp>\"Haha! The bumpkin’s been caught!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man, who called himself Willis, laughed heartily as he spurred his horse forward, aiming to sever Lann’s head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His smile lost all semblance of friendliness, leaving only sheer cruelty and an eager lust for blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No caution, no care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn’t imagine how his opponent could possibly pose any threat to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Two crossbowmen hidden in the shadows, and himself a cavalryman. To deal with a lone individual... is there any suspense?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cavalry! Soldiers of the King of War!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the era of cold weapons, no matter how strong the infantry, they were like rabbits under the eagle’s claws compared to cavalry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Modern people lack deep understanding of this, but those who have watched Spanish bullfights might have some clues.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those knights in bright attire rode on horses with braided manes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They even dared to stand close to the enraged bull, and at the moment of the bull’s charge, they would start the horse, intentionally keeping just a pace behind, toying with the bull.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Knights with excellent horsemanship could even draw their lance and target the bull’s back, all while interacting with the audience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A bull that ten strong men couldn’t subdue was just a meat target under the synergy of man and horse!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Can’t match the startup speed, can’t match the mobility... So what if I’m close to your face?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And for humans, this advantage is even more terrifying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chance for infantry to harm cavalry is only at the moment of proximity, but for cavalry, opportunities abound from start to finish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Willis’s recklessness and relaxation seemed natural to him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This notion persisted until Lann turned around.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A pair of amber cat eyes turned from the body in the mud to look at Willis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Those cat eyes’ pupils were almost reduced to slits!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Willis couldn’t describe his feeling. If he had to, it felt like a predatory big cat exhaled a breath onto his heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Willis began his charge, Lann had already formed his hand seal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Infantry can’t reach cavalry... but a Demon Hunter has a Magic Seal!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alder.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bang!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The air was suddenly compressed by an appearing force, and Willis’s horse’s hoof was knocked askew just before landing!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the entire weight of the horse was borne by its mispositioned hoof.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a \"crack,\" stark white bone pierced through the flesh on the horse’s lower leg.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The horse neighed in pain, rolling its hundreds of kilograms of body over the mud.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the time it stopped, the human knight caught in the roll already couldn’t feel his lower half.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Willis’s spine was broken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, if this weren’t a muddy area but hard ground, he’d be done for.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann, expressionless, stepped through the mud to the mixture of bone and flesh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"W-Wait a minute! Sir, this is a misunderstanding... Bang!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fist wrapped in a spiked leather glove smashed into the side of Willis’s face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The once-presentable young man tried to argue, but after that punch, half his face was scraped off by the three-sided iron spikes on Lann’s glove.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The intense pain caused his body to release a large amount of pain-relieving hormones, which didn’t last long, but were enough to make Willis groggy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the punch, two crossbow arrows once again flew through the air, but Lann easily dodged them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once alert, with no one able to hinder his movement, these arrows couldn’t harm him at all.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A cavalryman, two crossbowmen. This setup was even trickier than the ambush on Bordeaux.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But at that time, Bordeaux had no way out, so he had to fight hard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And he ended up fighting to his death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, with Willis’s carelessness, Lann first incapacitated him, bringing the battle from climax to conclusion in a flash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Normal Demon Hunters lack the ability to catch a horse’s hoof moments before landing and release a powerful Alder to throw it off.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their Alder’s Rune is too dispersed, possibly unable to even make the horse pause if it hits a cavalryman.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only Lann, blessed by Mentos with keen observation and control, could perform such a first-sight kill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon Hunter cast a deep glance at the distant road, the point of origin for the crossbow arrows.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he didn’t have time to leave no survivors, because Bernie was already losing a large amount of blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Lann tangled with the two crossbowmen over this one hundred meter distance, Bernie might lose consciousness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Mentos, initiate emergency skill [Navigate], analyze and upload to me Bernie’s piloting actions from memory.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grabbing Willis by the neck, he pulled him from the entangled mass of horse and man and threw him onto the boat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Blood stained Lann’s eye corner, but he didn’t even wipe it off. He lifted Bernie, supporting him toward the small boat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a left-right twist, the third volley of arrows missed narrowly past his ear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After this volley, the crossbowmen opposite were already hesitant to shoot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This will be uncomfortable, sir. We’ve been with Bernie for so long; the estimated proficiency of the [Navigate] skill should be over 70%!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just do it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving the house in the morning, a 20% proficiency upload, even after a night’s rest, left Lann rubbing his head for a good while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, facing at least a 70% proficiency upload, he didn’t even bat an eye!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mentos had no authority to prevent the master, and it knew with Lann’s determination, persuasion was futile.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was merely obliged by fundamental logic to offer the reminder.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Proficiency upload commencing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless motion analyses surged into his mind, forcing Lann’s brain cells to remember and understand them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The information was too vast, making the active brain cells raise his forehead temperature abruptly to 39 degrees Celsius.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without a Demon Hunter’s physical resilience, this alone could have been fatal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Lann only paused for a moment as he supported Bernie across the ground, and then resumed his stride.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cold sweat dripped, the muscles on his face spasming uncontrollably from pain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He felt like his brain was about to explode!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lann... Am I hit?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everything happened so fast that Bernie only began to react to being shot when he fell to the ground, bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He wanted to muster some strength, but the pierced spot felt like a dam releasing, draining all his energy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shut up, Bernie. I’m saving your life, and I’m feeling awfully uncomfortable, so keep your nonsense to yourself!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His eyes had already begun seeing double, but Lann’s mouth remained merciless in taunting Bernie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ha, even you can curse. This is the second time I’ve been injured, tsk... Demon Hunters truly are a jinx.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bernie had never heard Lann curse before; in Auridon, Lann usually carried himself with more composure than nobility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The villagers even crafted a dramatic backstory for him because of it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Bernie’s teasing couldn’t affect Lann.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In pain, time seemed to drag.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally placing Bernie onto the boat, Lann took Bernie’s hand and pressed it against his abdomen, gritting his teeth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Press hard, it can suppress the bleeding. Whether you live depends on this.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he turned, pushing the boat into the lake water.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With his head in a fog, just two minutes into steering, the boat was spinning in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But despite the agony, the skill’s proficiency was no lie.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After two minutes, the boat’s navigation started to look decent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, this hardly improved Lann’s mood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His head still throbbed, and Bernie’s condition was not looking good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first, Bernie maintained a fearless facade, saying things like,\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just yesterday I wondered about disappearing for a while, and today I have to disappear even if I don’t want to. I’m really a jinx.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But soon, as blood loss worsened, his body grew colder and more numbed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The initial jesting was to comfort Lann, himself, and his friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had always been a strong man, unwilling to let his friends worry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, an unavoidable fear struck him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hands and feet began to claw and slap around the boat, anxious for any reminder of his existence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He muttered the names of his family incoherently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann had no remedies except to pull him beside him and press onto the wound himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Meanwhile, hastening the mastery of [Navigate], rushing back to Auridon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The return wasn’t far, and Lann quickly got the hang of it. Twenty minutes after Bernie was hit, the Demon Hunter returned to the village with his friend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But his double-visioned eyes could no longer take heed; the village pier was already teeming with people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Madam Donald, holding a small bundle, sat dazed and powerless among the crowd.\u003C\u002Fp>",1428,"2026-06-06T10:40:07.661Z",1,"novelbin.me","dbe3147687a9e41022560f0cb4279d2052d5cf78557eb3929c5714f1a4dd9b05","bear-school-astartes-chapter-97","bear-school-astartes-chapter-43",1043,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbear-school-astartes-cover.jpg"]