Bear School Astartes

The Da Gun Altar was very conspicuous.

Building a temple on the island where the Lady of the Lake resided was originally part of the containment measures.

It was a stone temple structure built on the shallows, with a shallow layer of water on the floor made of large slabs of stone.

Water lilies and lotus leaves floated on this surface, and the leisurely and fresh atmosphere was not like that of a temple of an evil god.

But Lann inexplicably felt that beneath this fresh atmosphere, as he looked out towards the deeper part of the lake beyond the shallows. That deep, abyss-like darkness was the true face of this body of water.

His heart began to beat heavily and powerfully, his breathing deepening... The gene seed detected the bodily emotions, and it began to adjust the operating power of the entire bodily system to an optimal combat rhythm.

Reaching into the alchemy pouch at his lower back, Lann pulled out several bottles of magic potions one after another.

The most handy ones, [Thunder] and [Blizzard], were naturally included, and a new category, modified by him, was the [Maribo Forest].

Its property of accelerating body vitality recovery not only made his stamina abundant, but also greatly shortened the magic power low period after the demon hunter released a magic seal.

The magic power of demon hunters was innately generated from the body.

For a demon hunter like Lann, who could barely manage to chain magic seals in normal conditions, after taking the magic potions, he could even quickly perform a second round of magic seal chaining.

Originally, Lann wanted to drink another bottle of [Petri's Magic Potion] to temporarily amplify the strength of his magic seal.

But after all, he was just a demon hunter with a gene seed, not yet one of those fully-formed interstellar warriors.

The increase in toxicity resistance brought by the gene seed was not enough to support drinking another powerful magic potion.

The outcome of this battle was still unknown, and Lann didn't want to enter a toxic state at the very start.

His throat moved, toxins and potion power mixed into the stomach, spreading into the vessels.

His cheeks turned pale white, and the sockets of his eyes were dark like hollows, barely visible beneath his bright silver hair.

Now, Lann looked like a handsome and elegant spirit wandering the midnight.

"Heh-"

His mouth slightly opened, a surge of scorching breath turned into white mist the moment it left his lips.

That was a sign that Lann's body had entered a high-heat operational state.

Kneeling in a meditation posture, the demon hunter hung his head low but suddenly raised his right hand horizontally.

His clenched fist lightly opened, and a blood gemstone slipped from his palm, dropping into the water.

In that instant, the entire Vizima Lake seemed engulfed in an atmosphere of deathly silence.

Then, not far from the Da Gun Altar, a massive shadow in the water rushed up from deep below towards the surface.

A colossal dorsal fin carved through the water, rushing towards the altar!

Lann also calmly stood up from the water, drawing the heavy Bear School silver sword from his back.

The surface glimmered with a dim oily sheen.

[Remnant Oil], Lann wasn't sure what biological type the material entity of the Otherworldly Evil God would classify as, but [Remnant Oil] was undoubtedly the most toxic sword oil, barring specific targeting substances.

Like a torpedo, the massive shadow beneath the water burst through the surface, crashing onto the stone floor of the Da Gun Altar with a huge splash.

"Crash-"

It wasn't just a single splash, but dozens!

The moonlight too seemed polluted, turning gloomy.

And under the dim moonlight, what unfolded before Lann's eyes... was a thrashing mass of giant mosaic!

"Sir, the mental defense filing is providing support."

"Thanks, Mentos. Right on time."

Lann didn't want to take any risks in this matter, so Mentos had masked Da Gun's material entity's appearance right away.

Lann could only see a shape akin to a giant half-fishman.

Over four meters tall, robust, and bloated.

Tentacles like those of an octopus wiggled and curled where its face was.

Lann knew he made the right decision.

Even if he blocked the opponent's appearance right away, the mental pollution still made him feel like he was being tormented by an intense fishy odor that made him want to vomit.

But Mentos's real-time monitoring was telling him that the olfactory cells in his nasal cavity were in a completely normal environment.

Besides the enormous Da Gun, the other dozen creatures appearing along with it carried strong mental pressure.

If dealing with the Fallen Half-Fishmen needed a direct view into their wounds to feel abnormal, these beings were already pressing on Lann's psyche upon appearing.

They were products of further alienation of half-fishmen.

Standing at the average human height, but their swollen muscles were menacingly grotesque, far beyond normal human standards.

Their skin constantly secreted mucus, which seemed to free them from the restraint of brass breathing masks.

Revealing fish-like heads with no eyelids and large, bulbous eyes.

Da Gun, as the lady had said, was an evil god of chaos and irrationality.

He neither roared nor crouched down with bent legs. The genuine article resides on M|V|L&EMPYR.

Like a scallion pulled fresh from dry ground, he shot up straight into the air and descended towards where Lann was!

Without a doubt, even the material entity left in the physical world of Da Gun possessed supernatural strength.

The splashing water and the sound of shattering stone was the signal for battle.

The deep divers trailing behind Da Gun started to drive their bizarre limbs towards Lann.

The demon hunter was now in the super-time sense granted by [Blizzard], already moving to the side the moment Da Gun made his supernatural leap.

His strong muscles and bones endowed him with speed, with just a flash step, Lann moved two meters to the side.

Dodging the stomp of a massive monster standing four meters tall.

The core knowledge of Bear School swordsmanship was the control of the center of gravity, under such knowledge, Lann went from side flash to abrupt stop, then charged again.

The intervals between the series of actions were shockingly brief!

Almost the moment Da Gun landed, Lann had already closed in on its shin, slashing it with a body-twirling sword blow that sliced through the air!

Da Gun's shin was as thick as Lann's waist, but Lann had a clear understanding of his swordsmanship.

Even if it were solid flesh, it should be enough to cleave a waist-high stump with this blow!

Yet after slashing, Lann's brow furrowed sharply, and without a pause, he immediately moved away.

In the next moment, a half-human-sized fist struck the ground!

With a loud bang, the shallow water exploded into a massive splash!

This transition of movement stances was too abrupt; even leveraging the center of gravity adjustment in Bear School swordsmanship was to no avail.

After retreating hurriedly, Lann even staggered slightly, an unusual occurrence, taking two steps to regain stable balance.

He squinted slightly, gazing at the spot on the large mosaic where he had just struck.

"No... breach?!"

According to his estimate, that slash should have carved out a massive gash in the flesh, even if unable to sever a leg bone.

Yet now, beneath the mosaic image, there was no sign of a breach at Da Gun's shin.

"Mentos, analyze that previous slash."

"Blade sinew perfect, leverage effect perfect, muscle deployment perfect... sir, your expected damage outcome matches mine. The issue is with the enemy!"

Lann's silver sword was poised before his chest, and the next moment, a half-person sized fist came crashing down.

Lann stood firm, pushing himself away with the help of the leverage from the sword.

With refined counter-techniques, although Da Gun had overwhelming size and strength, it couldn't even make Lann feel strained.

His eyes deepened, a glimmer of contemplation flashing across.

Originally, he intended for a swift battle, to cut the opponent's shin and impair its mobility, and throw the three [Northern Wind] bombs from the alchemy pouch.

To directly destroy Da Gun's material entity.

But now... its protective capabilities were ridiculously strong!

Lann's all-out sword strike, considering only surface area damage, had more destructive force than alchemy bombs!

Yet even that couldn't breach its defenses?!