[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-bear-school-astartes":3,"chapter-bear-school-astartes-bear-school-astartes-chapter-51":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},1620031,2087,"Chapter 51. Clues of Marinated Meat","bear-school-astartes-chapter-51",51,"\u003Cp>The sight of these three rotten soldiers gave the young Demon Hunter a deeper understanding of the world.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What kind of soldiers had he encountered before?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Law enforcement squads, elite assassins’ teams.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Philip’s fully equipped horse squad, the Baron’s castle guard, and direct power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These people were perhaps rude, perhaps savage, maybe carried ignorant prejudices.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But undoubtedly, these people were skilled, superior to the ordinary people and soldiers of this era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were proficient in killing, tracking, riding horses, operating military equipment...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These skills granted them status, and also imposed rules upon them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As a Baron’s guard, they had no time or space to act tyrannically in the countryside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As elite soldiers, they had no energy or opportunity to moonlight as highway robbers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for ordinary soldiers, like the three that Lann had beaten to death with his fists today, they might just be the norm of this era’s soldiers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lazy, undisciplined, believing that holding a sword gave them power in remote areas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then they acted recklessly, robbing and killing, only following tax officers to do legitimate work during tax collection every year.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In most people’s eyes, they were robbers bearing national insignia.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann felt no regret for his furious actions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man intended to walk away after beating these scum to death, continuing with his business.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But during the fight, a toppled storage box beneath a large tarpaulin caught his attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann crouched beside the box, reaching out to pick up a black, hard strip of salted meat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His cat eyes shifted; there was still half a box of such meat strips inside, which was a considerable amount compared to Velen’s average living standard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the traces, this bag of salted meat had been placed there less than two days ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Demon Hunter’s fingers rubbed the surface of the meat strip, the tips of his gloves soon showing a sheen of oil.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is this what they called ’sick of salted meat’?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann’s eyes narrowed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In all of Velen, there are at least hundreds of these supply stations, and if each one received supplies of this level... Can Viserad afford it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Mentos in the blink of an eye grasped Lann’s thought process, calculated the total provisions, and gauged the general range of Viserad’s assets based on their one-time visit to the Crow’s Nest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sir, according to calculations, I believe that Sir Viserad cannot sustain the troops at this standard. In fact, supporting seven to eight hundred people is his limit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, this isn’t the standard configuration a supply station should have.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann stood up from his crouched position, surveying the area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corpses and traces of battle rendered the place a mess.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But with the now available [trace detection] paired with extraordinary senses, and Mentos’ image recording ability, he could complete a scene analysis.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Apart from me, no one has left traces of conflict bleeding here in the past week. Three days ago, a merchant passed by, but he was a flower supplier...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann walked to an almost indistinguishable wheel track, pinching a bit of dirt to sniff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The merchant’s cart only carried floral scents; even if extorted by soldiers, he could only offer money.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The answer was clear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The salted meat didn’t come from official supplies, extortion, nor could it have been village ’donations’...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Is there another possibility in this hilly region?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We should have realized this earlier, Mentos.\" Lann’s eyes lowered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How could a criminal gang not have an understanding with the local ’officials’?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hiding traces of crime is such an arduous task.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But by maintaining a good relationship with these three rotten soldiers representing official power, letting them report to superiors with a simple ’all is normal’.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Doesn’t that save more than half of the effort?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether these three soldiers knew that they were being ’respected’ by a group of cannibals... they likely didn’t care.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking once again at the already tattered and broken three corpses, Lann didn’t exhibit any extreme behavior.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The men were dead, he wouldn’t vent rage on corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sigh-\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He placed the strip of salted meat under his nose and gently sniffed, with Mentos in his mind going to great lengths to filter out the smell of the meat itself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A scent belonging to the meat jerky’s carrier stood out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, these jerky were transported only two days before, leaving enough scent to use.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The extraordinary senses of the Demon Hunter were not omnipotent; if another day had passed, Lann would likely be unable to trace any clues no matter his efforts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His slightly glowing cat eyes traced the direction of the scent on the ground, discovering intermittent footprints as road markers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann led Bopai along the footprints.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least today, the young man’s luck was holding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>~~~~~~\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sergeant Philip Strong wiped his bushy beard, drying the wine off and exhaling deeply.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still riding a horse, he couldn’t resist pulling out his flask and taking a few swigs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These days, he felt increasingly dependent on alcohol.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What started as a method to vent family frustrations, now, being without a bottle made him uncomfortable all over.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was becoming addicted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He knew this himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But a ’habit’ earns its name as ’habit’ because it’s powerless against it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Luckily, he was still strong and robust, could kill men, and rode horses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His superiors required this of him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How far are we from that place... Cond, Quill—something?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Philip reeked of alcohol, asking the cavalryman and Long Halberd Soldier, York, beside him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The village is called Condell, boss. We’ll be at the station in about... half an hour.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>York wasn’t notable among the group of veteran soldiers, but it was his relationship with the capable Demon Hunter that caught Philip’s eye during the last mission.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As they drank, Sergeant toasted him twice more, making the team of seasoned veterans recognize that this lad now held a different position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So even in cavalry formation, he could ride next to the Sergeant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Damn it, those blasted human traffickers are getting bolder, making it hard for me to—gulp—enjoy my drink!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Philip belched, the strong odor of alcohol permeating his face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Abducted children were still increasing, affecting more areas.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The issue itself was minor, but the impact was significant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Farmers lost interest in farming, and the Sir raged in the Crow’s Nest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was all his money! His money!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Philip’s team was left to rush around, investigate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the Sir’s words: \"Even if you have to turn over the Swamp Witch’s butt in Velen’s remotest mud and swamp, find those traffickers!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, the untouched remote areas were all that remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But nobody wanted to venture into the swamp, so they could only scout near secluded villages like Condell, as a form of reporting.\u003C\u002Fp>",1118,"2026-06-06T10:40:07.941Z",1,"novelbin.me","5a0ade4ac503baa06d2d3621dd7ae90c163263179e5035c1bd0bb3876058dfc6","bear-school-astartes-chapter-52","bear-school-astartes-chapter-250",1043,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbear-school-astartes-cover.jpg"]