Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1170 1152. Noble Justice
If the special rations are added to water and boiled, they will taste like barley porridge. This is an acceptable taste that Lan En had painstakingly prepared for the sake of taste.

However, considering Gu Long's teeth, Qilin feels that eating it dry without boiling it has a texture like small biscuits and is chewier.

Under the scorching flames, the moisture in the firewood that had not yet dried made a crackling sound. It was not noisy, but rather had a reassuring tranquility.

The Embers Knights seemed to have returned to their former glory days, living with Lan, who led them.

Lan En also leaned back, leaning against Qilin's side and quietly watching the bonfire swaying and flickering in front of him.

After the fluff ball had eaten its fill, it began to excitedly take out the bed from its small leather bag, and ran around to make the bed next to Qilin's head.

It has been using the space expansion pack back and forth for a while now. This space magic equipment makes it feel fresh and fun to use. It never gets tired of it.

And in this quiet and stable atmosphere, Lan En suddenly spoke.

"Regarding the Scoia'tael that has been getting more and more rampant in recent months"

The moment Lann opened his mouth, all the Embers Knights immediately broke away from their comfortable atmosphere and looked at him.

Lan En himself remained calm.

"Lincoln, tell me what you think. And..."

"What do you think in the Knights?"

The dry wood in the campfire was still crackling, but the atmosphere was no longer comfortably quiet.

Qilin tilted his head and looked in the direction of the campfire.

Only then did the fluff ball slowly put down the work in its little paws, raised its head and looked around blankly.

"Meow?"

A soft cry broke the silence.

"Our thoughts depend on yours, sir." Lincoln said calmly as he touched his face which was a little stinging from shaving.

"But I'm asking what you think. Just tell me."

Lan was unmoved by Lincoln's words and still insisted.

"Okay then." Lincoln frowned and said reluctantly.

"There is no doubt that the Scoia'tael has gained its current momentum due to the funding and instigation of the Nilfgaardian Empire."

"Otherwise, the timing is just too coincidental. The treatment of non-human races has not only deteriorated in recent years, but it didn't get to this point before the Civil War."

"Even if we saw the human civil war, which gave rise to the hope of resistance, there shouldn't be so many courageous and cruel non-human races that suddenly emerged at once."

"So in terms of their relationship with the Nilfgaardian Empire, we consider them to be enemies."

"In other words," Lann calmly concluded Lincoln's statement, "strive to kill them all."

Given the hatred that the people of Cintra have for Nilfgaard, it is natural that they want to destroy Nilfgaard and its affiliated forces.

This is what Lan En meant when he said, 'This is not a problem that can be solved by force alone.'

Even the Knights of Embers under his command, although loyal, actually have their own ideas in their hearts.

Even the Order of Embers, who have been deeply influenced by Lann, is like this, not to mention other people's views on the Scoia'tael.

"Yes, sir. This is what we all think."

Lincoln confirmed Lane's summary.

Somehow, even though Lan didn't show any emotion, Lincoln felt that he was a little disappointed.

But then, Lincoln ignored this feeling, looked past the flickering campfire, looked at his chief officer seriously, and made a supplement.

"But sir, our judgment is based only on the enemy's position."

"Ok?"

For the first time, Lan's cat-like eyes, which glowed slightly in the dim light, moved away from the campfire and turned to Lincoln, and his eyes focused.

The knight, who was four or five years younger than Lan, and only seventeen or eighteen years old, was looking at him quietly with his cat eyes.

"You said, our position as the enemy?"

"Yes, our judgment is based on our position as an enemy," Lincoln said without reservation. "It has nothing to do with race."

"We have seen dwarf troops fighting against the Nilfgaardians on Sodden Mountain. They were brave and fearless and never backed down. We will feel safe and comfortable fighting with them."

"So it has nothing to do with race, sir. At least on Mount Sodden, the dwarves we met were all good."

Lan En tilted his head and began to become interested.

"You seem to know what the point I want to ask you is?"

"I can guess it, sir." Lincoln nodded his young face up and down. "The biggest feature of the Scoia'tael is that they are all made up of non-human races, followed by torture and cruel methods, isn't it?" "It seems that you are as smart and as promising as I thought, Lincoln." Lan En smiled at him appreciatively. "But why?"

".what did you say?"

Facing Lincoln, who looked a little confused, Lan En leaned against Qilin with his arms folded across his chest.

"Then let me be clear: I remember that Cintra is not famous for its tolerance towards non-human races. Temeria has a better reputation in this regard. But it is only relatively good."

"Why then, you and your people, do not care about race?"

Young Lincoln opened his mouth and frowned. Lan watched his movements.

But Lincoln finally spoke out.

"Because of you, and Steward Hackthorne, sir."

The familiar name and the feeling of memories suddenly flooded into Lan En's heart.

"Hackathal," he repeated the name softly.

"In the war two years ago, most of us were young nobles trapped in the Cintra Castle."

Lincoln seemed not to notice Lan's reminiscent look, and seemed to have changed into another irrelevant topic.

As for the other Embers Knights, their eyes were also filled with nostalgia and recollection.

"At that time, noble parents in Cintra made their children drink poison that would kill them, and then they committed suicide with a dagger. Our parents were not in the castle, and people believed that they had no right to take our lives."

"So, we were at a loss and fled with Butler Hackso, and on the way we joined Knight Stuart's formation and obeyed his orders."

"We saved a lot of people along the way and witnessed the deaths of many people. In the end, we witnessed sacrifice and also completed self-sacrifice."

The young man looked at Lan earnestly with his freshly shaved face.

"Sir, to be honest, although there are knights in the Order who were born as commoners and ordinary soldiers, they are now as close as brothers to all of us, such as Henwill."

Lincoln stretched out his hand to the side. At the same time, the Embers Knight who led Lan into High Hill Castle also sat on his blanket and looked at Lan and Lincoln calmly.

"But two years ago, before we suffered the torture and trials of the vortex of war, sir, do you think that in the eyes of us, the descendants of nobles, there is really a big difference between the common human race and the non-human race?"

Lincoln narrated calmly, even cruelly.

"No, my lord. Before we became the glorious Embers Knights we are today, in the eyes of the nobles, the common people of humanity and the non-human races were all just the same 'property'."

"It's just that everyone has different ideas. Some noble lords dislike non-human races and target them. Others treat them equally. The latter will gain a reputation like King Foltest does now."

"Those who agree with him will say he is tolerant and kind. Those who oppose him will say he has no human honor, is deceived by non-human races, and is totally untrustworthy."

"But when those noble lords, who are already cruel, treat the peasants in their own territories, will they stop and show tolerance just because he is a human being?"

Lincoln's young face wavered calmly in the flickering shadows of the firelight.

Without expecting a response from Lan, he gave his answer on his own.

"There is no such thing, my Lord."

"Hang any farmer you dislike, whether he is a human, an elf, or a half-elf. It makes no difference."

"So in the beginning, in the eyes of us nobles, commoners are commoners, no matter if you are elves, half-elves or humans. At most, we would curse at non-humans a little more."

Lincoln smiled self-deprecatingly: "Isn't this also considered another form of 'equal treatment'?"

But after laughing at himself, the young man's eyes, which reflected the firelight, revealed a look of reminiscence and admiration.

His eyes looked across the campfire at the adult who was sitting quietly. But it seemed that his eyes were not only looking at Lan En.

"But disasters and chaos will bring about tempering and change, sir. Suffering is not worthy of praise, but the spiritual growth and broadening of knowledge brought about by suffering are real."

"When Seneschal Hackso led us to escape the captured city of Cintra, he did his best to save anyone he could."

"When we joined up with the remnants of the army led by Stuart, he did the same as his father did."

"I believe that at that time, whether there were non-human races among that small, insignificant refugee group or not, they would have made the same choice as what happened."

"In his last letter to you, Steward Hackso said that in the past peaceful and prosperous days, he never seemed to care much about those insignificant civilians, but after these difficult days, he realized that we are actually the same people."

"He expressed sincere emotion about this at the end of his life, and so do we, sir."

"From that day on, we all knew and remembered one fact." Lincoln's eyes met the slightly glowing cat's eyes without flinching. The reflection of the firelight in his eyes made a look like forged steel.

"We are all the same life, my Lord."

"We don't care whether they are non-human races or human beings. We care about justice and morality! Just like you."

"When you turned around and left after reading the letter, did you ever think about whether there were non-human races among that tiny refugee group?"

(End of this chapter)