Chapter 1424 - 1389: Guard Captain

[Yarden Rune].

In the Demon Hunter’s combat system, this rune is often laid out on the ground, appearing as a rune circle radiating a purple magical glow.

It can hinder enemies entering the circle, making their movements and exertions significantly more challenging than under normal circumstances.

It can also force specters, ghosts, and other monsters usually lacking physical form to reveal their bodies, preventing the Demon Hunter’s silver sword from just cutting air.

But these are merely very basic and rigid uses.

[Yarden Rune] is actually a type of magic sealing technique.

Previously, Lann used this rune for operations like sealing doors and blocking paths.

Geralt, in the deed that made him famous, used [Yarden Rune] to seal the coffin lid while lifting the Temerian Princess’s Vampire Demon Bird curse, preventing it from opening.

Forcing the transformed Princess to stay out of her coffin the entire night until the curse was lifted, turning her back into a human.

[Quen Rune] is for self-protection, [Yarden Rune] blocks environments and enemies.

Of course, the casting abilities of Demon Hunters can’t compare with those of Warlocks. The [Yarden Rune] system was crafted by three generations of the Great Mage Alzur and their research team specifically for Demon Hunters.

However, casting capability limits the height of magic.

In front of Warlocks, [Yarden Rune] is still just a trick.

But the teleportation portal spell is inherently a high-end spell requiring extremely precise magic control.

Don’t underestimate the glamorous female warlocks around Lann, who can effortlessly conjure a portal suspended in mid-air; merely achieving this qualifies them as Great Mages.

Even though there’s a noticeable strength disparity among Great Mages, the baseline is not low.

In the secret chamber within the wall compartment, using a pre-prepared array or magic item assistance to slowly open a teleportation portal is the caster community’s norm.

And in such cases, whether it’s placing a piece of Demon-Blocking Gold nearby or letting the power of the [Yarden Rune] interfere with it, there’s only one outcome —

The teleportation portal... will collapse.

"Whoosh~ Boom Boom!"

The opened teleportation portal, with drastic changes and surges in internal and external pressure, generated a muffled sound akin to air cannons.

The scattered objects and floating dust in this chamber, influenced by chaotic air pressure, were alternately sucked in and blown out, creating chaos.

Visibly, the teleportation portal, which was initially in the slow expansion phase, flickered and shrank like a faulty light bulb.

Finally, with a ’poof,’ it made a sound resembling a muffled fart,

and the portal, squirming and contracting like intestines, indeed ’expelled’ some things.

"Crackle Crackle~"

A variety of blood and flesh fragments, shattered beyond Lann’s expertise to distinguish any human form, spewed out from the collapsing portal!

Among them, equally fragmented metal pieces, as small as fingernails, emerged mixed together, clattering onto walls and floors.

In an instant, the entire cramped chamber was covered in a layer of viscous blood that could submerge shoe soles.

Not only blood; the collapsing portal minced everyone that entered it—their internal organs, filth from intestines, greasy brains... everything shredded and sprayed out.

The stench was unbearable; the foul odor of feces mixed with visceral smell and the metallic scent of blood seemed pasted into the nostrils, drilling straight into one’s head.

"Ugh!"

The ’fortunate’ dwarf who was pulled back by the Eternal Fire Missionary and didn’t make it inside simply vomited outright.

Vomit stuck to his thick beard, but the dwarf, usually protective of his beard, didn’t have time to wipe it as he stood up, trying to rush outside the chamber.

Kind-heartedly, Lann stepped aside, allowing the dwarf to breathe easily through the collapsed wall.

"In the name of plague... Oof!"

Swearing and vomiting simultaneously, the dwarf wiped his hand, which had touched the nauseating liquid as he supported himself on the wall.

Lann glanced at him, walked straight into the chamber, looking for any letters or documents.

Unfortunately, this chamber seemed solely built for the teleportation array, and nothing else.

Lann walked out with an unchanged expression, grabbing a White Rose Knight Order flag from the corridor to wipe his hands from rummaging inside.

Meanwhile, the dwarf had finished vomiting.

He gasped, hands on knees, turning his head to observe the tall figure leisurely wiping his hands next to him.

"Phew~ I’ve killed many people on the battlefield where I can eat and sleep normally, but this smell... Oof!"

Speaking, he retched again, barely managing to calm down.

"Did they smash and blend someone here? Like grinding wheat and kneading dough? A belly slashed open with intestines everywhere wouldn’t smell this bad!"

"What else do you expect?" Lann leisurely wiped the dirt from his hand armor onto the White Rose emblem on the flag, "Would you believe it? When a warlock’s teleportation accident needs handling, the tips given are always doubled? It’s disgraceful."

"I thought..." the dwarf casually wiped the vomit-matted beard, muttering, "I thought your battlefield performance was exaggerated. I couldn’t believe there could be a warrior so mighty, but clearly, I was wrong."

He straightened his knees, but even then his head was barely at Lann’s waist, just slightly above the knees.

"I never expected the renowned ’Hunting Marquis,’ the Duke of Sintra, would directly come and slaughter the knight order that had offended him, even though that bunch was quite foul."

"Yet, it doesn’t quite match the rumors."

The dwarf in front maintained a steadfast demeanor, despite using the coarse slang ’I’ typical of dwarves; his composure far exceeded that of the now-minced Captain Rudolph.

Lann neither agreed nor disagreed with the dwarf’s assessment, nor with his own identity.

He merely nodded at the dwarf, "May I know your name?"

"Dennis," the dwarf calmly replied, "Dennis Kramer. I am the Guard Captain of Prince Seward’s Imperial Guard."

"The Guard Captain of Seward’s Imperial Guard is a dwarf?" Lann asked with piqued interest, "I hadn’t heard about that."

"For various reasons, off the record," Dennis Kramer was indifferent about it, "I just do the work; whatever the Prince says, I follow."

This also explains why the moment Lann entered the White Rose Knight Order’s castle, even a knight reeking of alcohol could immediately sense something was amiss.

Because the castle already housed someone representing Seward’s will, how could another arrive, seemingly unaware there was already someone here?

Of course, it must be a disguise.

"You’re skilled, no doubt," the dwarf gritted his teeth, cheeks puffing up, hand pressed on the axe at his waist, "but I’m not just going to stand here waiting to die. Come on!"

Lann threw the flag used for wiping hand onto the ground, looking at him disdainfully and mutely, "Talk as if Seward and those two hundred more White Rose Knights in this castle are so aggrieved."

"Really seeing themselves as heroes clearing away evil?"

But just as Lann expressed his disdain and scorn, he suddenly sensed something was off.

For the dwarf before him, already fierce as if making one final struggle before dying, abruptly widened his eyes.

"What did you say?" Dennis Kramer let go of the axe at his waist in shock. "Only two hundred knights in the castle? Just two hundred?"

"You didn’t know?" Lann, who was slightly tightening his fist, slowly relaxed, keenly saying, "No, Seward doesn’t know?"

"What should I know? What should Prince Seward know? Are you riddling with me?!"

The dwarf spoke with a temper in a deep voice.

"All I know is, Prince Seward can no longer delay; Veltrest’s messenger is almost ready to throw a decree marked with the royal seal in his face. He sent me to supervise the White Rose Knight Order to speed up their assembly."

"I stayed in this tower since yesterday afternoon, with Rudolph saying they were almost fully assembled! How could a thousand-strong knight order have only two hundred?"

Under the shadow of the hood, Lann observed Dennis Kramer’s expression, watching even the slightest twitch in the muscles around his eyes.

He wasn’t lying.

Lann concluded.

The dwarf before him, and Seward, indeed didn’t know what the White Rose Knight Order had been up to.

It’s entirely possible.

Seward hoped to procure the White Rose Knight Order’s might while aligning his stance with theirs.

However, at the same time, he absolutely dared not defy Veltrest’s command. The White Rose Knight Order had postponed execution multiple times under the pretext of needing time to rally forces, and he had reached his limit by sharing the pressure upfront.

If it drags on further, he wouldn’t consider ’reliance on the White Rose Knight Order’ anymore but rather how to sever ties with them.

I want your strength, and indeed helped you greatly, but when you seek death, don’t splash blood on me.

He’s comfortably seated in his ducal position.

But with all this...

Lann’s perpetually relaxed brow now slightly furrowed.

If Seward had no involvement in this fiasco, then this action by the White Rose Knight Order could be seen as a secret collaboration with the Eternal Fire Church, impulsively mobilizing under fanatical beliefs.

But here lies the problem.

If Seward wasn’t involved, didn’t even know what was transpiring here, where did those White Rose Knights obtain the intelligence regarding the Demon Hunters?