Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1154 1136. Secret Culvert
The fur trader was taken over by the military doctor, and Lan En also prescribed him targeted medicine. The manufacturing techniques and raw materials were not complicated. The military doctor said that he could do it, and that this medicine would also be beneficial to the wounded here.

After walking out of the room where the wounded was, the leading sergeant's expression had calmed down a lot.

Although he was still visibly nervous when he was around Lan En, it was much better than when he had trouble speaking clearly at the beginning.

"Two soldiers here died, including the one just sent out."

"In addition, two of our reinforcements died, and two were from the enemy."

The sergeant spoke to Lan En as six bodies covered with white sheets were placed outside the room.

"Do you want to take a look?" Before the witcher could respond, he walked to the corpse and lifted a corner of the white cloth.

".Elf?"

Lan En said with a little surprise.

"Of course it's the elves." The sergeant said with certainty, "Scoia's Party."

"This name is weird, what does it mean?"

"Yes, sir. It's a strange name," the sergeant explained to Lan.

"But this is their ancient name for themselves. Some say it's because they always wear a squirrel tail as an ornament. Others say it's because they live in the woods and can only survive on nuts."

"But I can only say that the trouble they are causing is getting bigger and bigger."

The sergeant covered it with the white cloth again and wiped his palm on his tunic.

"Come on, sir. I'm sorry to waste your time. You shouldn't have spent so much time talking to a junior officer like me."

"No, I'm very grateful to you." Lan shook his head. "I had no idea what Scoia'tael meant before."

"It seems that you have been away from the civilized world for a long time. Are you hunting monsters in the wilderness?"

"It's not an easy journey, I guess."

Later, the sergeant introduced Lan to the commander of their unit, a knight.

The knight saluted the Duke of Cintra out of courtesy.

But Lan could feel that this knight did not respect him like his men did.

He didn't look like he had been through the Battle of Sodden Hill.

On the contrary, his men's respect for Lan made him feel a little repulsive to the witcher.

The conversation was not pleasant, it could only be described as lukewarm.

Fortunately, Lan En didn't have any expectations, and his identity was confirmed, enough to be recognized by the northern countries.

He just came here to spend the night to avoid the rain.

"Scoia'tael."

The witcher was watching the raindrops falling under the eaves, chewing on this word that he had just re-recognized today with an incomprehensible meaning.
-
The next morning, the sky was bright after being washed by the spring rain.

Lan En rode away on the Qilin in the awe-filled eyes of most soldiers.

His story is indeed legendary, and the deeds of war on Sodden Hill were indeed wonderful and honorable.

But this was a magical Middle Ages after all, and people who had not fought alongside him in person still had doubts about those stories and descriptions.

Or curious.

The soldiers were more curious and concerned about Lan's size and appearance than about whether the stories were true or exaggerated.

After all, a story is just a story, not to mention that it has been passed on countless times.

People may cheer loudly and get excited when listening to the story, but when the protagonist of the story appears before their eyes, most people will probably remain rational.

Only a very small number of people would have the same irrational and fanatical mentality as when they were listening to the story.

Walking all the way to Gos Velen, Lan En thought that Qilin would arrive today anyway, so he turned a corner.

He went to Oriden to visit his old friends in the small fishing village.

Thanks to his contribution in opening up the waters suitable for fishing, and the "sudden death" of all the people in the village of Duke Stessa, the villagers' lives are much better than before.

When Lan was running around in Weiren, he would come back from time to time to have a drink, so the relationship between them was not unfamiliar.

The son of hunter Bonnie and the son of the blacksmith who had mended Lann's silver sword were now helping out in Gos Velen's Valyrian steelworks.

I can also send my wages home every month.

I heard that Mrs. Donna plans to ask White to go there to find a job in a few days.

After hearing this, Lan En patted his chest and promised to find a reliable master to take care of little White.

"I heard that Sir Visserad wants to renovate the tower on the island in the center of the lake and use it as a villa."

Old Allen had a lot more white hair over the years, and he complained to Lan.

"I don't know what's so good about living on that broken island. He can do whatever he wants, just don't let us work for him."

"He won't force you to work for him, and even if he does, he'll negotiate the wages."

Lan En tried to dissuade the old man from his worries in silence.

"Veserad has made a lot of money in the Valyrian steel business. It's normal for him to want to build another villa now that he has money."

The Valyrian steel business is now arguably the greatest benefit to the province of Velen.

For the sake of technical confidentiality, the output of Valyrian steel billets must be controlled under the nose of Aretuza College, that is, in the workshop of Gos Velen. Although Gos Velen is also a port city, not all sales places that need Valyrian steel can conveniently receive goods by water.

Caravans and convoys had to go all the way to the westernmost part of Velen before they could reach Gos Velen, pay the money and get the goods.

Traffic means business, which means money!
The tax revenue from Valyrian steel sales had caused the total tax revenue of Velen, Temeria's poorest province, to double over the previous year.

Now, many villages along the trade routes, which were originally half-dying due to the harsh environment of Velen, have gradually opened taverns and hotels.

The villages along the road also began to frequently ask demon hunters to clear monsters along the roads in front and behind their villages to ensure road safety.

The so-called economy, when a dynamic and promising profit point emerges, will naturally drive a large number of industries to develop in a positive direction.

A powerful demon hunter is helpless in the face of the poor and dangerous ecological environment of Velen. So what if he kills the monsters around the village for free?

The witcher satisfied his sense of justice and left, but the villagers still had to make a living here.

Money doesn't appear out of thin air, and neither does a livelihood that allows people to survive.

But an emerging industry can change this difficult life.

Of course, Visserad also made a lot of profit from it. The money for renovating the tower on the small island in the middle of Lake Oriden was probably paid from here.

Old Alan is just worrying for nothing.

Just because Foltest did not redistribute Oriden after he killed Stesse, Visserad did not dare to touch this small fishing village.

But why should we ask an old man who has not received much education to see the inner side of things?

Lan drank the last sip of Livia Cherry Beer from a brand new wooden glass and said goodbye to Old Allen and the bartender.

He left the village while saying hello to others.

This small fishing village is built on the edge of the lake. Many of the wooden barrels and fishing nets in the village have been replaced with new ones, and the road sign at the entrance of the village is also new.

Several children were playing around the Qilin and the fluffy ball at the entrance of the village.

The fluff ball was a little helpless. After all, it had to prevent the children from messing up the leather that was tied up, while not being too aggressive at the same time.

Fortunately, Lan En's arrival saved it and Qilin.

After scaring away a group of children, Lan and his companions set out again and soon arrived near the wall of Gos Velen.

The witcher's estimate was correct, and they arrived just in the afternoon.

As usual, they did not enter this increasingly bustling city through the main gate, but instead let Qilin take the water route on the sea and make a big circle.

We went around to the back of the large reef where Aretuza College was located, and from there we reached the secret room and went ashore.

"Wow~"

Qilin had already begun kicking his feet impatiently.

The bundles of wolf skins, dragon skins, wolf teeth, dragon scales, etc. tied on its back were not heavy but quite large, which made it very unhappy.

But according to Lan En, these dragon scales were also intended to give it some extra armor, so the Qilin just carried them obediently all the way.

Now that we have arrived, it doesn't want to carry it on its back at all.

"Don't worry! I'm opening it for you!"

"Qilin is so lame, meow!"

Stomping its hooves back and forth on the rocky floor, Kirin changed direction so that Lan and Flannel could remove the things on its back.

The temperature and humidity in the secret culvert maintained by magic are always constant, and the beds and display cabinets inside appear homely under the warm light of candlelight.

Even at high tide the ocean waves could not penetrate, leaving only the continuous sound of breaking waves.

After placing a large roll of dragon skin wrapped in wolf skin on the ground, the witcher and Felynx breathed a sigh of relief.

The fluff ball felt relieved because he had finished his work, but Lan En felt a sense of relaxation in his heart.

Gos Velen and Aretuza, the city and its academy of sorceresses, had become a regular 'half-time' stop in his travels across many and dangerous worlds.

It gives him a sense of security as if he is in a safe zone.

Although the fish market in Gos Velen still smells bad and is noisy, and although the students or professors of Eritusari still light up when they see him,
"But that's all pretty easy to deal with, isn't it, fuzzball?"

"Meow?"

Maomao, who was sitting on the ground, dealing with a large package of things he had placed in the secret culvert, looked back in confusion.

But he saw the witcher smiling and waving his hand.

So it lifted its hind legs, scratched the back of its neck, and continued to devote itself to the grooming process.

As the journey progressed and the fluff ball grew, its trophies, souvenirs, and combat supplies became more and more numerous, and eventually a large package had to be placed next to Lan's display case to accommodate them.

Seeing that Felyn was busy sorting out his harvest, Lan En walked to his own display cabinet, opened it, and adjusted the flower on the head of the doll he brought from Yharnam.

But just then.
"Welcome back, dear."

A nonchalant, enchanting voice came from the entrance of the culvert.

But the demon hunter raised his eyebrows.

The voice continued, "But can you explain how one of the rings on your finger came to be missing?"

(End of this chapter)