[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-bear-school-astartes":3,"chapter-bear-school-astartes-bear-school-astartes-chapter-525":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},1620346,2087,"Chapter 525 - 527. Mental Torture","bear-school-astartes-chapter-525",525,"\u003Cp>Alcibiades was a charming rogue with high emotional and intellectual intelligence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he wanted to win someone’s heart, he couldn’t act like a clingy sycophant, desperate to be by their side every moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After verbally introducing a task to Lann, he left without any hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To be honest, Lann somewhat wished he would linger. That way, he would have an excuse to punch him in the stomach...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But unfortunately, that punch never came.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann, bored, turned his wrist and found himself in front of a sizable workshop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Around the workshop were many marble or bronze sculptures on open ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were sculptures of eagles poised for flight on pedestals, and naked warriors battling sea monsters... a variety of styles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, the general theme was the display of the power and beauty of musculature and form – very typical of Ancient Greek sculpture style.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Phidias’s sculpture workshop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Athens, artists and philosophers were highly revered. Therefore, with Phidias’s sculptural expertise, his personal workshop was almost as large as a warehouse in Piraeus Harbor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Lann walked through the wide-open door of the workshop, he saw scaffolding, pulley systems, and other equipment, along with massive chunks of marble.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The tools for making large sculptures, at a glance, looked a lot like quarry tools.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is anyone here? Mr. Phidias?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann’s call echoed throughout the workshop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the second floor of the workshop, following the Demon Hunter’s call, there came the sudden sound of something falling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann, arms crossed, silently watched the direction of the sound.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a while, a marble piece the size of a walnut was thrown from the second floor by a trembling hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fairly high-quality piece of stone didn’t even fall within two meters of where Lann was standing and just made a small pit in the sandy ground before coming to a stop.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Go away! I’ve called the guards! Pericles arranged for guards near the workshop! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll leave!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The voice was rather manly in tone, but the words and manner were like those of a frightened child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann’s footsteps on the yellow earth were nearly imperceptible as he easily approached a workshop pillar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he adjusted his breathing, and the Light Body Skill gave his body significant buoyancy in the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a quick forward rush, he pushed off the wooden pillar twice, reaching up to grasp the platform over four meters high on the second floor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The loudest part of the whole maneuver was about as much noise as someone walking normally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So when Lann stood behind Phidias, looking down at the master sculptor squatting behind the second-floor railing, Phidias was still anxiously looking downstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Have they left?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only his eyes visible, Phidias peered downstairs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not at all, Mr. Phidias.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sudden voice from behind made the sculptor abruptly sit down on the floor. He turned around in a panic, only to see Lann, arms crossed, leaning against the wall, looking down at him expressionlessly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alcibiades mentioned you’re feeling troubled recently, so he paid to commission me to help you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The assertive and clear self-introduction left no room for panic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann now had learned, very well, from the memories of the Sons of the Emperor, how to judge and influence people’s emotions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Phidias almost instinctively grabbed Lann’s outstretched hand and was pulled to his feet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Do you need to confirm with him?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After pulling up his mission target, Lann asked him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Phidias opened his mouth but then shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you’re a mercenary with a face like that, I fully understand why Alcibiades would hire you. This is definitely something he would do.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, he moved over and picked up the hammer and chisel he used for sculpting, putting them back in place.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry, if I had met you before, I would have been compelled to sketch your face and then start sculpting it. But now... I don’t even want to finish the orders I have.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Phidias was a middle-aged man with black hair and a beard, wearing a robe that exposed his right shoulder and half of his chest, although maybe for work convenience, it was only a knee-length tunic.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He should have been in the prime of life, with a leisurely job with food and clothing security, but he now bore heavy dark circles, appearing dazed as if suffering from nervous breakdown.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Can you tell me what happened? From Alcibiades’ words, it sounded like it was done by a fanatical admirer. But seeing how tormented you are, I’m having doubts.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann patted Phidias on the shoulder, offering the man a rare sense of security.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Finally, Phidias could relax and sit down, burying his face in his hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They are demons!\" he said muffled, with a hint of sob.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I don’t mean the mythical kind, but their malicious hearts are just as evil as any mythological demon!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They stalk me, chase me, at home, in the workshop, they open my letters, turn over my things...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Phidias listed many behaviors that in Lann’s dictionary could align with a group known as ’fanatical fans.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But then, Phidias lifted his buried head slightly, revealing a frightened eye through the crook of his arm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The panic in that eye... was intensely alarming.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This wasn’t the kind of pressure a mere ’fanatical fan’ could exert on a person.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann realized this instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And those demons, those demons... They deliberately let me know they were doing these things! Many times it was intentionally for me to find out!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From this sentence on, Lann’s eyes narrowed slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was becoming interesting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Allowing the monitored ones to realize their situation, the implicit threat imposed upon them causes a psychological pressure that endlessly escalates until it drives them insane!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Lann’s homeland, there was a world-famous author who was driven to mental breakdown and then suicide by the national intelligence agency through this method.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And this author was renowned for his ’spirit of effort.’\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even so, at the time of his suicide, he was like a frightened child.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And in an era when even physical diseases are only at a rudimentary stage of understanding, there are people, an organization, who can study the principle of mental torture to this degree?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Recalling Erpinuo’s smile, unwavering even as he lay dying.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lann felt he might be onto something here.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They let you discover you were being watched... did you see anything?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A silver helmet and visor... They carved the visor into an old wise man... I caught a glimpse through my window. I’ll never forget that night’s glimpse!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing Phidias curled up into a ball, Lann’s thin lips turned up slightly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Divine Teachings’... I’ve caught a tail!\u003C\u002Fp>",1113,"2026-06-06T10:40:23.104Z",1,"novelbin.me","f534cbd913e19d2e1d884167c7ec01eaa3d7b4ee87cc54e0566fefec10e65e23","bear-school-astartes-chapter-592","bear-school-astartes-chapter-591",1043,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fbear-school-astartes-cover.jpg"]