Bear School Astartes-Chapter 854 - 837: Phoebe’s Experience

Rong Buqiu, unlike the Demon Hunter or the Elder Race, lacked their heightened senses. So, when Cassandra kicked away the rubble blocking the door, the Three-Floral Kitten quickly jumped down from Lann’s shoulder and raised its sword, guarding the entrance.

Once the dust settled, it sighed in relief.

"It’s Cassandra and the others, meow!"

Rong Buqiu let out a long sigh, having felt immense pressure during the recent conflict with Demos, even though Lann bore the brunt of the confrontation.

After all, Demos was unlike anything it had faced before, a wise human with strength and weight not exceeding that of monsters, nor a life force as robust, yet far more adept at exterminating other intelligent beings.

This brought enormous psychological pressure to Rong Buqiu.

It merely held on because of Lann’s presence and its dream to become an excellent warrior.

With its resolve now eased, it stretched out its hind legs and plopped down on the rough surface of the Divine Hall’s floor, its shoulders slumping.

Cassandra led the charge into the Parthenon Temple.

Her Broken Spear emitted a golden light from the blade, illuminating the steel as if it were yellow jade.

She cautiously proceeded inside and relaxed a bit upon seeing Lann.

"We saw Pericles outside the temple. What’s going on?" 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Cassandra frowned while sizing up the dilapidated Parthenon Temple and approached Lann with her query.

"The uproar at the Parthenon Temple has thrown all of Athens into chaos. The market had just started to settle down, but now everyone seems nearly mad, saying ’even Athena is punishing Athens’."

She had gazed upon the majestic temple from the Acropolis that very morning, admiring its prominent eaves and vibrant tiles overhanging the cliffs.

And now... is this truly Athena’s punishment?

"It’s your brother."

Lann shook his head, picked up Rong Buqiu by the scruff, and led Cassandra outside.

The temple now seemed almost precarious.

"He tried to seize the opportunity as Pericles came to pray, along with the Divine Guard, to assassinate him. But since I was here, we ended up clashing."

"Things got pretty intense."

Cassandra’s lips quivered, involuntarily glancing back at the now precarious Parthenon Temple.

This is what you call ’pretty intense’?

"Perhaps there truly is merit in what the Divine Teachings proclaim," the Hawk Trainer said, his tone somewhat somber after a brief silence. "My brother is a raging demigod."

"Thank you, Lann. If he had succeeded in killing Pericles today, I... I wouldn’t be sure I could hold onto my beliefs anymore."

"I might not forgive Aleksey and ultimately... ultimately kill him."

"There’s no ’if,’ Cassandra." As they exited the temple’s main structure, Lann released Rong Buqiu’s scruff and patted Cassandra’s shoulder.

He spoke with a relaxed expression.

"I stopped him, things didn’t spiral out of control beyond recovery, this is now reality. There’s no need to dwell on what didn’t happen."

"Now, tell me how Pericles is doing? I hope Rong Buqiu sent him far enough, so he didn’t get hit by the temple’s marble debris."

"I certainly sent him far enough, meow!"

The kitten jumped up and called out.

Elu Cat’s lively demeanor lightened Cassandra’s lingering fear, and she smiled.

"Yes, Rong Buqiu sent him far enough. There’s a crowd around him now."

When Lann walked over, he saw that Rong Buqiu had placed Pericles by a marble planter.

Around the Parthenon Temple, many such planters were constructed. Surrounded by marble in a rectangular shape, some even had artificial fountains next to them.

And now, besides the vibrant flowers in the planter, there were numerous marble fragments, big and small, all flung out from the temple.

Thanks to the planter as a cover, Pericles was slumped but unharmed.

Around him were Aspasia, Socrates, and Hippocrates.

The two of them showed fear and relief, but Aspasia... Lann sensed her emotions were the most complex.

Outside the trio, there was also Phoebe, her clothes tattered, trailing behind.

Lann frowned and walked towards the little girl first.

"Why are you here, Phoebe?"

Upon seeing Lann, it was as if a switch flipped in the little girl, and she became chattering and excited.

She chirped, pointing to her left fist, or more accurately, the sleeve sword bracelet on her left hand.

There was blood on it.

"I did it! Lann! I did it! I defeated them, with what you taught me! ...Even if it was just one."

The Demon Hunter raised an eyebrow: "Since when does ’one’ qualify as ’them’? What exactly happened? You’re all over the place."

"She was pursued by the Order Divine Teachings’ guards on the streets."

Seeing Phoebe so excited that she couldn’t speak properly, Cassandra explained to Lann from behind.

"Among them was a divine artifact holder, yet... right under the divine artifact holder’s nose, she killed one of the Divine Teachings’ guards and kept them at bay until I arrived."

"I never had such boldness at her age."

As Cassandra talked about the events, her voice held a note of disbelief.

This left Lann a bit stunned, looking at the exuberant Phoebe.

This expression seemed to spur the little girl on as she chirped about how she accomplished these things.

Simply put, it was due to her advantage in mobility.

The [Light Body Skill] taught by Lann, she was probably the most proficient among the learners.

The Divine Guard cornered her inside the Pericles Grand Theater, which had six large marble columns, both thick and tall.

There were beams connecting between the pillars, upon which long drapes were hung as decorations.

She didn’t even need to fight with the Divine Guard; she could just climb up and maneuver around.

The Divine Guard could only use long-range weapons to target her location.

But those guards didn’t carry bows and arrows; even if they dismantled theater chairs to use as throwing stones, Phoebe had no trouble dodging.

On the beams, she was more agile than a cat; being hit was out of the question.

The little girl was evidently influenced by Cassandra’s temperament, considering she was raised by her.

After the initial panic, her mind was filled with an urge to ’fight them all.’

"Then, just as you taught me,"

Phoebe looked at Lann with eager eyes.

The Demon Hunter nodded noncommittally.

"Go on?"

"Well, I jumped down to increase the attack force with my weight as they passed beneath me. Then I used the combat techniques you taught."

At this point, Phoebe seemed a bit confused.

"But I’m not even sure how it happened; I was nervous, and the sleeve sword wasn’t aimed properly. It only grazed through the gap under the helmet, but he... died?"