Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1153 1135. Toll Station on the Bridge

"I, I really won't be infected by germs?" The fur trader asked, cowering behind Lan En. "Even my hands can be kept safe?"

He had lost a lot of strength due to his fear and previous struggle with the water ghost, and was dug out from the wet mud by Lan En. His teeth were chattering as he spoke.

"I told you, as long as there is a place to rest, your injury won't be difficult to treat. Can you please be more alert? You are still far from death."

Lan En, who was leading the way, looked back at the fur trader speechlessly.

The movement made his body shudder, because it was the first time he caught a glimpse of Lan's eyes that glowed slightly in the dim environment.

When rescuing him before, Lan En deliberately lowered his eyes in order not to stimulate his already weakened nerves.

"Are you a demon hunter?"

The fur trader spoke cautiously, with surprise in his tone.

Before this, he could only see darkness in the woods and could hardly make out Lan's figure.

"Yes, sir. But you should take better care of yourself now."

"Phew, you're right." The fur trader took a deep breath. "You're right."

"I know there's a toll booth on the bridge nearby. It's a place where people can rest when passing by. We can go there. It only takes half an hour to walk."

At this time, the "rustling" sound of bean-sized raindrops hitting the leaves has gradually sounded and is getting louder and louder.

The thick cumulonimbus clouds in the sky finally reached their limit and began to condense into water.

The extremely stuffy air became fresh and comfortable with the falling rain.

Unfortunately, this is not good news for fur traders.

The rain was taking away the already weak vitality in his body.

Fortunately, the water ghost's lair is not far from the river.

Coming out of the already extremely wet woods, even the weak fur trader could immediately spot the figure of the Qilin on the other side of the river.

A huge horse that is graceful and noble.

Amid the bursts of muffled thunder in the sky, he did not seem to be frightened at all, but rather felt contented.

The fur trader was visibly stunned at first, and then his eyes, which had been distracted by his injury, finally focused.

His eyes flickered between Lan's back as he walked out of the dark woods, and the horse on the other side of the river.

"You, you are Lan from Cintra?"

The fur trader, who was supported by the witcher, spoke in an incredulous tone.

After walking out of the dark woods, Lan's figure was completely revealed in front of him. After all, the witcher was not even wearing the hooded cloak at this time.

So the differences from ordinary people become obvious.

But it was only a moment of surprise, and then the fur trader regained his composure.

He was feeling very badly right now. Even if the character in the legend and ballad stood in front of him and helped him escape from the mouth of the water ghost, he really had no energy to think about anything else.

So all he had left was to sigh.

"Am I really lucky today? I'm honored."

"Whether it's an honor or not, wait until I take care of your hand, buddy."

Lan En supported the fur trader and waved to the Qilin on the other side of the river. Then after a nimble leap, the Qilin came to their side carrying a ball of fluff.

Following the fur trader's guidance, they headed towards the toll booth on the bridge in the rain that was visibly getting heavier.
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"Hey, sir," a sergeant at the toll booth yelled from a distance, "you guys are here at a really bad time. Honestly, this timing couldn't be worse."

The sergeant was right, and Lan couldn't argue with that.

A toll booth on a bridge. Although there are usually soldiers stationed at this facility, they basically just take turns on duty, and sometimes even their weapons are placed against the wall.

But now, the toll booths on the entire bridge have been put on alert.

It was raining heavily, but the soldiers on guard still asked them to stop when Lan En led the fur trader to come over from afar, and they could only communicate by shouting.

Showed a high level of vigilance.

And Lan could see that this was necessary.

It is difficult for an ordinary person's eyesight to penetrate the rain, but he had already heard the general situation inside the toll station.

Normally, there would be three soldiers, a groom, a toll collector who also served as a clerk, and at most a few passing merchants at this toll booth. But now, it was already overcrowded.

There were at least thirty Temerian light infantrymen and fifty sword and shield soldiers camped around the low fence.

The rain was a disaster for the soldiers wearing cotton armor. They huddled under the extremely limited eaves like a group of baby birds huddling together for warmth.

For those who couldn't squeeze in, they pulled out a few large oilcloths from somewhere and at least built a few rainproof sheds.

There was a crowd of people inside the open gate, and it turned out that there were still quite a few people inside the toll station.

On top of the slightly crooked observation point, two soldiers armed with crossbows were always on guard around.

There were several farmers' ox carts and two merchants' horse-drawn carriages parked on the old bridge.

In the yard, a cow that had just unloaded a truck was standing in the rain, looking down sadly at the mud and feces on the ground. "There are only two of us, and one of us is a wounded soldier."

Lan En smoothed his wet hair back and responded loudly.

"This man won't be able to bear it if he continues to be exposed to the rain."

On the other side of the rain, the sergeant who had shouted discussed it with a few people around him and finally gave in.

"It is an unspoken moral code to help people who are in trouble on the road. Please come in. But please be careful with your words and actions. Everyone is nervous now."

The fur trader's already pale face suddenly relaxed a lot.

Lan En helped him walk onto the bridge, and the unicorn's hooves behind him made a dull "clattering" sound on the wooden bridge surface.

At first, the two crossbowmen at the observation point were still staring at Lan En and his men as they approached, as was the sergeant who was responsible for shouting.

But as the demon hunter and his horse approached, the rain gradually disappeared.
"What the fuck!"

The crossbowman at the observation point was the first to cry out in surprise.

First, as Lan En and Qilin approached, these people gradually realized the unusual size of the creature.

Just now, through the rain, they thought the injured person standing next to Lan En was a child!
but now
"This man." The sergeant who was originally standing on the upper floor and shouting staggered, subconsciously pressing down the helmet on his head, but his eyes were fixed on the figure that was getting closer and closer below.

And those eyes opened wider and wider as the figure got closer!
"Who's coming?"

The sergeant leaned forward, not caring about being exposed to the rain, and stretched his head downward to ask.

"Lan." The approaching witcher looked up and said calmly, "Lan of Cintra."

The soldier who finally saw the man's appearance up close was stunned at first, and then he started running down the wooden stairs.

"Get out of my way, damn it! Get out of my way!"

After a burst of noise, the panting sergeant pushed aside the group of people blocking his way and ran to Lan En.

He was panting, not sure if it was because of nervousness and excitement, or the insignificant amount of exercise just now.

The sergeant's mouth opened and closed several times, but he didn't know what to say.

"I have the honor of seeing you again, sir."

Finally, he stammered out these words.

"Forgive me, soldier." Lann raised an eyebrow at this. "Have we met before? I don't quite remember."

"Ah, of course! Of course!" The sergeant first adjusted his helmet, then rubbed his hands nervously together. Even the smile on his face seemed helpless.

"It was at the Battle of Sodden Hill. I was in the 7th Temerian Infantry Regiment. You and your retainers passed through our lines with your standard guns. It was a glorious and great battle! Many of us will never forget it until we die."

On the battlefield at that time, Lan En, for the first time in history, fully activated his legion command ability, combat ability, and group emotional perception ability.

Unlike fighting alone, at that time the entire Northern Alliance was under his adjustment and control, as long as they had contact and cooperation with the Knights of Embers led by him.

Then it would have been impossible not to be influenced by him at that time.

Emotions such as immense glory, the will to forge ahead, and the feeling of being invincible inspire every soldier.

On the battlefield, who can refuse this?

And these emotions were generated after Lan En led his troops to break through one line of defense after another!

For the soldiers on the battlefield, the shock that Lann brought to them and the prestige that was born from it were even greater than those of their king.

"But why are you here?"

The sergeant said this in confusion, and at the same time, as if he had just realized something, he dispersed the officers and soldiers who gathered around him like shooing away flies.

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! You're leaving the Duke of Cintra out in the rain? Are you crazy?"

After at least making way for them, the sergeant said apologetically.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't see you clearly before."

"It's not your fault, soldier." Lann shook his head indifferently. "I'm just looking for a place to hide from the rain. You have your job to do, so relax. I'm not your superior."

Lan En smiled politely at the soldiers who had gathered around to watch the fun, then walked in, leading the wounded man, followed by Qilin.

That smile instantly silenced the noisy chatter and whispers all around.

"Wounded, go this way." The sergeant led the way. "We were attacked last night. The military doctor is taking care of the wounded inside now."

"If we hadn't come to support in time, the toll station would have been burned to the ground."

Following the sergeant's instructions, Lan brought the fur trader into a simple wooden house.

This house is considered quite nice in the toll station, which is not very big.

Before Lan En and the others could go in, a body covered with white cloth was carried out.

While carrying the body, the military doctor saw the sergeant coming and reported to him.

"This is the one with the arrow stuck in his stomach. He didn't make it."

(End of this chapter)