Lord of Cinder in American Comics

Before Hill could offer any words of comfort, Geralt interrupted him, unwilling to hear Hawkwood give up, even if it was meant as a word of advice.

"Hill, do you know what the Farron Immortals are?"

Hill didn't speak. She watched Geralt talking to thin air, clearly speaking to himself, only she happened to be there.

"The Farron Undead Legion are warriors who admire Artorias the Wolf Rider, the 'Wanderer of the Abyss,' warriors who share wolf blood and take it as their oath. We are warriors who declare war on the Abyss. We share wolf blood, we share one soul!"

Even though Hawkwood is called an escapee, we all know that the oath of wolf blood will lead him back to Farron Keep, and the responsibility of declaring war on the abyss will make him pick up the Farron Greatsword again!

The knights of the past fell, leaving behind their mission and the blood of wolves—this is the origin of the Farron Undead Legion. Even though the armor of the wolf riders foreshadows our end, even though cursed upon us, our will remains steadfast!

Geralt's words were passionate and impassioned; he practically roared them out. As soon as he finished speaking, the Undead Legion nearby raised their weapons in response to Geralt's declaration.

However, the person the Undead Legion was waiting for never appeared. The Undead Legion's captain stretched out his right arm and straightened his greatsword, placing his left claw blade on his right arm and in front of his chest.

The Undead Legion's ceremony: declaring war on the enemy.

The atmosphere was somewhat somber, and the person they were waiting for never appeared.

The captain launched the first attack on Gom. As if to vent his anger, the captain abandoned the assistance of the claw-shaped dagger and just used wide and sweeping moves on his own. Flames condensed on the blade as he slashed at Gom repeatedly.

Having abandoned the delicate and agile aspects of the Farron swordsmanship, the raw power of a single Farron greatsword is a completely different aspect from the Undead Legion's refined swordsmanship.

Whether by coincidence or otherwise, the moment Gom opened his mouth, he used the chains in his mouth, stained with hellfire, to find an opening in the captain's attack and deflect the captain's blade.

In the game, this is an opportunity for a shield parry execution, and no Ashen One would pass up such a chance to deal high damage.

Gom wasn't going to let the captain, who was wide open, get away either; it pounced on the captain with its belly sticking out.

Just as Ghom's stomach was about to bite the captain, another Farron greatsword appeared in front of Ghom, and Hawkwood, dressed in Undead Legion attire, blocked Ghom's attack with both hands.

The captain patted Hawkwood on the shoulder, completely ignoring the battlefield, and said, "The fire will be reignited; the Watchers of the Abyss don't need to hold the fortress..."

The captain's words seemed to be an excuse for Hawkwood's departure, which granted him the right to freely enter and leave Farron Keep.

Hawkwood shook his head, nudged Gom aside with his sword, and pulled two glowing stones from his pocket, tossing them to Geralt.

Hawkwood bowed to Gom in the Undead Legion salute and said, "The Flame of Legacy is the honor I have never relinquished. I am a member of the Undead Legion, I have never abandoned my sword grass, and I am ready..."

Hawkwood's appearance instantly changed the atmosphere of the Undead Legion; if it was one of loneliness and sorrow just moments before, it was one of high spirits and excitement.

The remaining members of the Undead Legion adopted the Undead Legion's etiquette to welcome and celebrate Hawkwood's return.

Their claw-shaped daggers were placed on the outside of their right hands, the wolf fangs on the daggers piercing their arms, and blood began to flow out along the wolf fangs, floating in the air.

These blood, carrying the blessings of the Immortals, drifted towards Hawkwood and merged into his body.

Having received the blood of the Undead Legion, Hawkwood's body began to ignite, much like the captain's Lord of Cinder state.

"Watch closely, this is the third stage of the Wolf Sword Technique..."

The captain set an example for Hawkwood, and was the first to attack Gom.

"Don't underestimate us, we've learned almost all of your tricks!"

Hawkwood followed the captain, his sword flashing with flames. The captain used Wolf Leap followed by a vertical slash from Wolf Sword Technique, while Hawkwood used a low-altitude spinning slash. The two of them worked together to create a cross-shaped slash, cutting Gom open from the mouth and exposing the Ghost Rider inside.

At this moment, Ghost Rider has lost his Hellfire Skull form, revealing Johnny Blaze's human body.

Hawkwood swiftly swung his claw-shaped dagger in his left hand, slicing Johnny out of Gom's body.

The captain unleashed his signature piercing slash, which pierced through Gom's body, followed by a fiery slash that cleaved Gom in two and burned him to ashes.

The battle was now easy and swift, and the Immortals had broken their previous dullness.

Geralt checked Johnny's condition. The Zarathustra within him had been removed at some point. Mephisto had left enough flames within him to sustain Gom's actions for so long.

As expected, Mephisto was a cunning old fox. He ran away with his investments without hesitation when the situation was unclear.

Geralt shook his head and handed Johnny over to Farron Ghost, instructing them to take Johnny to see Carter Slay.

At this moment, the cup also completed the sealing of the Son of Hell's authority. Like a vacuum cleaner, the cup swallowed up the surrounding darkness, and the surrounding environment returned to bright daytime.

Geralt, however, paid no attention to the cups; he was standing in front of the Undead Legion leader, reaching out to ask for something.

Hill saw Geralt's apologetic and ingratiating expression and took the Wolf Rider Greatsword from the reluctant captain's hands.

Carrying the Wolf Rider's Greatsword, Geralt regained his previous fearless and carefree demeanor, and even had the mood to tell jokes to Hill.

Pointing at the cup, Geralt said nonchalantly, "Do you want the authority of the Son of Hell? If not, I'll take it back and throw it at the skeleton..."

Hill became wary, feeling that Geralt was playing a trick on her again.

Seeing Geralt carrying the wolf rider's greatsword, Hill shook her head without hesitation and said, "No, I'm afraid you'll turn around and cut me down..."

A sheepish Geralt sheathed his wolf-rider greatsword and said solemnly, "Mephisto said you are the one suited for this authority. If you say you need it, I can give it to you, as long as you abide by some rules..."

Faced with the allure of power, Hill, confronted with matters he was utterly incapable of handling, suppressed his desires.

Shaking his head, Hill refused the hellish authority that was within his grasp.

Watching the Immortals leave with the cup, Hill knew she had missed out on the power, but she was genuinely relieved. As the director of S.H.I.E.L.D., she still had to maintain her integrity as a human being and couldn't be as shameless as some traitor.

Once the cup had disappeared from his sight, Hill asked casually, "Since I have rejected the authority of Hell, Geralt, may I ask you a question?"

"Ask away, I'll tell you anything I can say..."

Hill looked at Geralt, and Geralt's relaxed demeanor in the sunlight made Hill nervous.

Hill asked, "Since Constantine and Ash have gods behind them, how did the hunters become mediators? Who is your god? Which side does he/she belong to?"

Seeing Hill's serious expression, Geralt smiled, a very happy smile.

"There are no gods behind us..."

Hill didn't believe it at all, saying, "How is that possible! Isn't it said that only gods can fight against gods?"

Geralt, looking at the anxious Hill, pointed in the direction the Undead Legion had left and said, "I only have them. Didn't I just say that we share wolf blood, we share one soul? As long as we die one last person, he will gather all our strength, merge all our blood and all our souls, and then the sole Undead Legion will be the new god, becoming the wolf blood lord who seeks the Abyss Walker..."

Chapter 282: Anderson Returns After His Studies

Without S.H.I.E.L.D. causing trouble, Ashe felt incredibly relaxed. Now, all she had to do was say good morning and good night to the Fire Keeper every day, and then check in at the Bureau of Control whenever she had a spare moment, and that would complete her week of slacking off.

However, without Anderson, the base's head butler, Ash's daily check-in became more frequent, changing from once a month to once a week.

After finishing his autograph session, Ash, feeling utterly bored, lay on the table, listlessly counting the bullets from his drawer.

"Anderson, why aren't you back yet..."

"Since you think so highly of me, there's something here that needs your assistance, Chief..."

The head butler and his assistant Anderson pushed open the door, heard Ash's words, and took a document from his arms and placed it on Ash's desk.

Upon seeing Anderson, Ash exclaimed in surprise, knocking over the bullet tower that had been propped up on the table, "Holy crap! You're back?"

"I'm back now that I've finished my studies? Is there a problem? Before I went, I read a whole bunch of books on prison management, thinking there was something new to learn, but it's all still the medieval stuff. I even rearranged the shift schedule and personnel management for the underground prison, and they were so happy..."

Anderson spoke of his training experience with some frustration. Having witnessed Ash's various methods, he had initially thought that the training Ash had arranged would teach him some advanced skills, but it turned out he was just a prison patrol guard.

Anderson couldn't stand the dark and damp underground prison environment any longer, so he decided to change it. Out of respect for Ash, and since the prison boss had long since turned to ashes, Anderson became the undisputed new boss of the underground prison.

As a result, Anderson rescheduled the shifts, strictly adhering to a three-shift system, which completely transformed the underground prison. Although there are hardly any prisoners in the underground prison now.

Before Anderson left, all the prison guards paid him a visit to thank him for bringing rules and regulations that changed the prison's appalling working conditions.

In fact, the guards were most grateful to Anderson for bringing Liu Bei to relieve their loneliness. The guards' only activity used to be playing tricks on prisoners who tried to escape, leaving them the key to the window bars and watching them fall into the abyss.

At Anderson's suggestion, a new trans-dimensional device is about to be built, and now the prison guards can also watch the girls dance.

Ash, seeing Anderson's nonchalant expression, tentatively asked, "Didn't you learn any new skills? You didn't even bring any equipment?"

Ash's words reminded Anderson, who took a mask off his lower back and showed it to Ash.

The moment Ash saw the mask, she felt her health bar plummeting. She hurriedly waved her hands and said, "Take it away! Anderson, take it away!"

Ash's strong reaction left Anderson somewhat bewildered. He turned the mask over to examine it, but found nothing wrong with it.

As Anderson retracted the mask and hung it back on his waist, Ash covered his forehead and said, "You just walked around the base like that with it on your waist?"

Confused, Anderson asked, "Is there a problem?"

Before Ash could answer, the office door was kicked open, and two ATS exoskeleton armors, led by Frank, arrived in front of Ash.

Fleck looked at Ash nervously and said, "The base has been attacked. I suspect it's a biological weapon. Most of the soldiers are incapacitated; they're in a state of muscle weakness..."

Frank looked at Ash, but Ash was staring at Anderson, which made Frank turn his head and look at Anderson curiously as well.

Anderson then belatedly pulled out the mask again and said, "This is it? I thought it was a souvenir..."

Before he could finish speaking, Frank collapsed the moment he saw the mask. He stared at Anderson in disbelief, too weak to even extend a finger.

The soldiers inside the two ATS armored vehicles were also unable to move, just like Frank, but they were supported by exoskeletons and did not fall down easily.

Anderson hurriedly flipped the mask over, covering it with the headscarf, and frantically placed it in the file and covered it up.

"I really didn't know this thing had such an effect. I originally thought it was just a souvenir..."

Anderson explained that he had indeed never seen the mask's specific function. After all, he was sent by Ash, and who would dare to use the mask on Anderson? What if Anderson reported them? Would their souls still be able to return to the original furnace?

So even now, Anderson doesn't know that the mask's function after being bound is that it can be used selectively. He just hung the mask on his lower back and walked around the base.

[Jailer Mask: The masks worn by the jailers in the underground dungeons of Irithyll. The plump faces on these masks reflect the tastes of the nobles. They are among the few survivors of the sinful capital, later serving Pope Sulyvahn. They find solace in the mournful cries emanating from the prison for their lost homeland. Combat Skill: Jailer's Guard. A skill named after their identities, solidified on the masks of the dungeon's jailers. It gradually drains the energy of anyone who sees it, saving the jailers considerable time in managing the prisoners; their fate is largely irrelevant. The prison's mournful cries originate from those terrifying masks.]

After explaining how to use it to Anderson, Ash guided him on how to switch the mask on and off using his mind, and Anderson finally felt relieved.

As for the others who were injured, just give them a couple more days off to rest.

Watching Anderson reattach his mask, Ash, suppressing the memory of the illogical health deduction from her health bar, almost gritted her teeth as she asked Anderson, "Where are your other equipment? Where are they?"

"I put the whole set of clothes in my private storage room, um... and a branding iron, it looks too much like a torture device, so I put it in the interrogation room... Could there be something wrong with that branding iron too?"

"What do you think! The whole set of clothes is like an enhanced version of the stamina-draining skill, and that branding iron is even stronger than that. Even if I were to encounter it, I wouldn't last long. And you just left it in the interrogation room like that? Are you afraid the prisoner won't die fast enough?"

Even if hatred were to strike, one could only lie on the hospital bed like a limp noodle…

Upon hearing this, Anderson hurriedly said, "I'll go and handle it right away..."

Just before Anderson turned to leave, Ash called out to him, "You still haven't said what you need me to do! How come you've become so reckless after being gone for a few days!"

Anderson pointed to the documents on Ash's desk and said, "It's a military investigation report. They've lost a significant amount of investment, and they need you to take a look..."

Leaning back in his chair, Ash picked up the documents and flipped through them, asking, "How did this involve me? Aren't these things handled by them?"

Anderson pointed to the mask at his waist and said, "Remember when you sent that other person on their further studies?"

"Another one? You mean General Ross?"