Beast Slayer Online: Initialization
Copyright© 2026 by CaffeinatedTales
Chapter 12
Lannor brushed the mud from his clothes and stood.
His hand closed around the shaft of the halberd lodged in Bordon’s abdomen.
With a wet sound, he pulled.
The weapon slid free with little effort.
The massive corpse slumped aside like rotted clay. Lannor did not spare it another glance.
Between them, all debts were settled.
The three soldiers, who had already gathered their captain’s body and were waiting nearby, approached at last.
“You finished talking?”
The halberdier asked cautiously.
Lannor gave no answer, only nodded. Holding the weapon by the butt, he leveled it and handed it back.
The halberdier ground his teeth, then reached out and took it.
“You hold it like that and still keep it steady ... and your teacher.” He shook his head. “I’ve never seen a man move that fast in armor like that. Are all witchers like this?”
Without the School of the Bear armor, or even something slightly inferior, Bordon would have died in the first volley of arrows.
Heavy armor was a warrior’s second safeguard. The first was the warrior himself.
“I’m different.” Lannor let go and shrugged. “Our school favors strength more than most.”
The halberdier began scraping blood and grease from the blade. A weapon that had just cut through flesh was not something to neglect. Leave it be, and by morning it would rust.
One of the archers spoke up, seeking Lannor’s opinion.
“So, we take both bodies with us now?”
“I need to strip his armor first.” Lannor gestured behind him at Bordon’s corpse. “He left it to me.”
The crossbowman nodded. “You should keep it. I’ve never seen armor crafted that well. It can’t have been cheap.”
There was admiration in his voice. He glanced down, a little embarrassed, at his own standard-issue gear.
As a standing soldier under the lord of Velen, the finest armor he had ever seen was his lord’s ancestral suit.
But everyone in Velen knew their lord, Vserad, had no stomach for the battlefield.
His heirloom armor might still look splendid, but whether it could still take a blow was another matter entirely.
Lannor nodded in agreement.
“The workmanship is excellent, but that’s exactly why repairing the tear in the abdomen will cost a fortune.”
With the help of the three soldiers, Bordon’s full set of School of the Bear armor was quickly removed.
The School of the Bear was the only witcher school that equipped its members with heavy armor.
A suit like this, weighing close to thirty kilograms, would leave an ordinary man unable to rise once he fell.
Putting it on and taking it off both required assistance.
The three soldiers dragged the two bodies out of the narrow valley, to where their four horses waited.
Bordon’s and Lannor’s mounts were there as well.
“Our thanks again, Witcher master. For your help in the fight, and for waiving the bounty.” The three soldiers bowed from horseback before departing.
“We’re usually at Crow’s Perch. That’s also where Lord Vserad’s castle stands. If you ever need anything, come find us. No matter what others think, you’ll have the best welcome we can give.”
“Crow’s Perch. I’ll remember it.” Lannor smiled in reply and did not correct their form of address.
A witcher master was one capable of hunting large monsters alone.
An adult griffin, a cockatrice, a basilisk, even a pteranodon. The species did not matter. Any one of them could slaughter a squad of ten soldiers by itself.
Bordon had such feats to his name. He deserved the title.
But even a man who could kill great beasts alone would still die when faced with the entirely different nature of human warfare.
As for Lannor, he was far from a “master,” but for men who might never leave Velen in their lives, there was little point in arguing.
“By the way, I have a question.” Lannor spoke casually. “Why did Lord Vserad put so much effort into hunting down a murderer this time?”
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