Following the commotion, Allen hurried to the eastern gate of the outpost. He quickly spotted several witcher masters from the Griffin School and the School of the Wolf who had gone out to gather information.
They stood hidden in the shadows, leaning against the wooden railing of the two-tiered watchtower by the eastern gate, their faces expressionless as they looked toward the main entrance of the outpost.
Sol and Erland, the grandmasters of their respective schools, stood side by side, seemingly discussing something.
But the surroundings were too noisy, and their voices too low—Allen could not hear clearly for the moment.
Just as he approached and was about to greet them—
Thud. Thud. Thud.
The ground began to tremble slightly. The clamor at the eastern gate of the outpost abruptly ceased. Everyone—male mages, sorceresses, human guards, soldiers, and witchers alike—stopped what they were doing and looked up toward the direction of the vibration.
Very soon—
Four burly men led in tall, long-maned draft horses, each at least half again as tall as an ordinary horse, their postures majestic and imposing, entering through the eastern gate.
From afar, they looked like four small mountains rumbling closer.
Allen recognized the breed. They were Amell Mountain Draft Horses, usually used by merchant caravans to haul heavy cargo through mountainous terrain.
They were rarely used as mounts.
Not because they were temperamental—on the contrary, they were gentle, with top-tier endurance and load-bearing capacity on the Northern Continent.
It was simply that their massive size made them unsuitable for normal humans to ride, and they were not particularly fast. Even though they could carry heavy burdens, ordinary riders did not require such capacity.
But clearly, the men leading these horses were not ordinary.
The four burly figures were even more massive and imposing than the mountain draft horses themselves.
Especially the one walking at the front.
He stood at least two and a half meters tall. A tattered bearskin mantle hung over one side of his body, and his shoulders were broader than nine palms laid side by side.
Over what appeared to be heavy padded armor, he wore layered lamellar plate forged from iron sheets.
From a distance, the inlay work seemed somewhat rough—but as he walked, the plates did not clang against each other at all. They barely moved.
That meant the thickness and weight of those metal plates were anything but ordinary.
Rather than human, he resembled a humanoid rock troll or a cyclops.
As he drew nearer, the tremor of the ground became palpable.
A crushing pressure arose unbidden, as though a mountain were slowly but irresistibly pressing forward, ready to grind everything in its path into dust.
Arnaghad.
There could be no other candidate. The massive figure before them had to be the grandmaster of the School of the Bear, Arnaghad, famed for his strength.
As he came closer, Allen noticed how terrifying Arnaghad's appearance truly was.
Sword scars, claw marks, bite wounds, corrosive growth scars—combined with those cold, emotionless silver beast-like eyes, one might believe he had crawled straight out of the abyss.
The other three witchers of the School of the Bear—likely witcher masters as well—were not quite Arnaghad's equal in stature, yet not far behind.
Coupled with the heavy armor that caused the ground to tremble with every step—
It was no wonder the School of the Bear chose Amell Mountain Draft Horses as their mounts.
Ordinary horses simply could not bear such weight.
Beyond appearance, the School of the Bear was also the most distinctive among all witcher schools.
Other schools—the School of the Wolf, the School of the Cat, the School of the Viper, and even the Griffin School, which valued Signs more than swordsmanship—were fundamentally technical combat styles.
Whether relying on swordplay, Signs, crossbows, or poison, they emphasized nimble footwork, evading monsters or humans alike, buying time and space before delivering a fatal strike.
But the School of the Bear was different. Their approach was simpler—and more brutal.
Their steel and silver swords were specially made heavy blades—longer, thicker at the spine, and significantly heavier than those of other schools.
A Bear School longsword could weigh one and a half times that of a Wolf School blade of the same tier.
That might not sound like much, but when swung at speed, no witcher of equal level could face a Bear School witcher head-on and block a single strike.
Their armor was likewise the most defensive—and heaviest—among all witcher schools: a composite heavy armor combining chainmail lining, padded armor, and lamellar plating.
Moreover, the School of the Bear was not proficient with Signs.
Setting aside the Griffin School's many Sign variations, a typical Bear School witcher usually only used Quen and Heliotrop, at most adding Yrden. Naturally, they were particularly skilled with these defensive Signs.
Thus—
Their combat strategy was exceedingly clear.
Pure defensive counterattack tactics.
They nearly abandoned large-scale evasive footwork altogether. Through minimal bodily shifts without moving their feet, they avoided exposing weaknesses, endured monster attacks with Quen, Heliotrop, and their astonishingly defensive heavy armor—then delivered swift and lethal counterblows.
A pure brute-force method.
And precisely because it was "simple" and "pure," it was both practical and dangerous.
When Vesemir once lectured about the witcher schools of the Northern Continent, he had emphasized the School of the Bear.
If other schools took one unit of time to explain, and the School of the Cat took three, then the School of the Bear also took three times the normal duration.
But the School of the Cat had been emphasized because Allen was about to descend the mountain with Hughes, Bond, and Fred to participate in the apprentice tournament jointly organized by Ban Ard and initiated by "Glutton" Henselt between the School of the Wolf and the School of the Cat.
The School of the Bear, however, was emphasized purely because of danger.
Vesemir had dissected their combat traits in detail and repeatedly stressed—
Even a peasant woman on the Northern Continent knew that on the battlefield, those who survived the longest were the nobles clad head to toe in plate armor.
Was that because nobles were more experienced or more skilled with the sword?
No.
It was because of airtight armor.
A farmer in full plate could even kill a Wolf School witcher head-on. (Of course, a farmer with a pitchfork could manage as well.)
The same principle applied to the School of the Bear among witcher schools.
And another reason Vesemir was so wary was the School of the Bear's historical ruthlessness toward their own kind.
Thus, to the witchers of the School of the Wolf, the most dangerous witcher school on the Northern Continent was the School of the Bear.
Some might ask—
This combat style was effective against drowners, foglets, sorcerers, and even other witchers. But what if they encountered a cyclops or a Archgriffin—massive monsters capable of killing with a single blow?
The answer was simple.
Ordinary witchers handled ordinary contracts; witcher masters took on master-level dangers.
Why would a Bear School witcher stubbornly hunt a cyclops or a Archgriffin?
And not only the Bear School—the Wolf School had monsters it excelled against; the Griffin School had its own specialties. One would not force the Griffin School to take contracts against creatures with high magical resistance.
The School of the Cat, after all, specialized in killing humans rather than monsters.
Each witcher school accepted contracts suited to its strengths, and clients typically chose witchers accordingly.
As for suddenly encountering a Archgriffin midway?
That could only be called fate. When accidents struck, destiny treated all witchers equally.
Returning to the point—
Besides the danger posed by overwhelmingly powerful monsters capable of killing in one blow, the School of the Bear's combat style had another flaw.
Taking attacks head-on caused tremendous damage to armor. A few more hits from monsters, and the repair costs after a single contract could swallow the entire reward—sometimes even leaving them in debt.
Thus, during the era of the Witcher Order, aside from emotional coldness, another explanation for Arnaghad turning on his comrades was financial.
Witchers who revered his combat style were prone to bankruptcy, requiring a constant flow of contracts to sustain themselves and their equipment.
When the monster tide waned and they were further targeted by priests and sorcerers, Arnaghad had no choice but to compete with his fellow witchers of the Order for contracts in order to survive.
Whether the first civil war within the Witcher Order erupted due to side effects of the Trial of the Grasses or because of crushing armor repair costs—
Aside from Arnaghad himself, no one likely knew.
Thud… thud… thud…
The faint tremor of the earth suddenly stopped.
Allen withdrew his thoughts—and found himself staring directly into a pair of icy silver beast-eyes.
No curiosity. No killing intent. No emotional fluctuation whatsoever—
It felt as though he were staring into the eyes of a corpse.
Soon, however, that cold gaze passed over him and shifted behind him.
Allen turned his head.
At some point, Sol and Erland had ceased their discussion and were also looking at Arnaghad, their expressions equally blank.
Though both grandmasters faced Arnaghad, Allen inexplicably felt that Arnaghad's attention was on Erland rather than Sol.
The eastern gate of the outpost fell silent.
The Aretuza sorceress guiding them stood stiffly between Arnaghad and Erland, her head barely level with Arnaghad's iron belt—like an ungrown child.
The next second—
Footsteps sounded rapidly.
Jerome Moreau, Keldar, Lucien, and Daniel—four witcher masters of the Griffin School—moved closer to Erland, their right hands subtly rising, the thumbs and forefingers of their left hands slightly curved.
The atmosphere at the outpost instantly grew tense.
"They're not going to start fighting here, are they? Settling old and new grudges together?"
Allen's expression shifted uncertainly. He saw no killing intent in Arnaghad's eyes—nor in the eyes of the other three Bear School witchers.
But concealing killing intent was a foundational lesson for witchers. And Arnaghad, due to the Trial of the Grasses, already had certain defects.
After a brief thought, Allen stepped without hesitation to Erland's side.
Erland looked at him in surprise, then nodded.
At that moment—
"Arnaghad, you've arrived————"
Sol suddenly spoke, breaking the atmosphere that had nearly solidified.
"Mm." Arnaghad glanced at Sol and gave a low grunt.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
He withdrew his gaze, took hold of the reins of the tallest black Amell Mountain Draft Horse, and followed the sorceress from Aretuza Academy, passing by the witchers of the School of the Wolf and the Griffin School, heading deeper into the outpost.
Though the School of the Bear was also a witcher school, for well-known reasons their quarters were not adjacent to those of the Wolf and Griffin Schools. In fact, they were separated by quite some distance—even from the territory of Redania's Crowned Silver Eagle.
Presumably, when the Brotherhood of Sorcerers divided up the quarters within the outpost, they must have had quite a headache.
After a while longer, once Arnaghad and the other Bear School witchers had completely disappeared from sight, the eastern gate of the outpost suddenly thawed into noise.
The observing mages looked toward the path Arnaghad had taken, then toward the gathered Bear, Wolf, and Griffin witchers, whispering loudly and pointing.
Some lamented that a fight had not broken out. Some explained the history between Arnaghad, Erland, and the Witcher Order. Others gossiped about the current relationships among the three witcher schools—
In summary, none of it was flattering.
"Let's leave first————" Allen suggested, unwilling to remain as a spectacle.
The witchers of the Wolf and Griffin Schools naturally had no objections and returned to their shared quarters.
"Allen, thank you for earlier."
Back at the quarters belonging to the Wolf and Griffin Schools, Erland suddenly smiled at Allen and offered thanks without preamble.
Allen paused, realizing it was because he had taken a stand just now. He said nothing, only shook his head lightly.
Erland had already given him Witcher's Notes, the complete legacy of the Griffin School. Merely standing beside him to show support was nothing in comparison.
"I thought you were going to fight just now." Allen brushed past the thanks.
"I thought so too," Sol nodded, then added with some uncertainty, "But… Arnaghad didn't seem to stop out of provocation. He… feels different from before…"
Erland nodded. "Keldar and Jerome overreacted. Arnaghad wouldn't stir up conflict over something meaningless."
"He must have had something… something he wanted to discuss with us…"
Erland paused, exchanged a glance with Sol, then looked at Allen and sighed.
"Allen, it seems your guess was correct."
"It's not just the Wolf and Griffin Schools. All the witcher schools of the Northern Continent are being targeted by the Roggerveld family."
Of course. Could a witcher-hunting movement sweeping across the entire Northern Continent possibly spare the School of the Bear?
Allen thought to himself.
Among all the witcher schools, aside from the School of the Cat, the self-serving School of the Bear had the lowest reputation.
But then again—
Though the School of the Bear ultimately collapsed, they did not suffer the devastating casualties that the Wolf and Griffin Schools did.
The Bear School's downfall stemmed from a Griffin School witcher's failure to purge the surrounding region of vampires, which stirred public dissatisfaction.
Residents gathered to attack the Bear School's fortress.
Faced with this situation, the Bear School members remained indifferent. They neither wished to commit pointless slaughter nor possessed the fervent devotion to defend their stronghold. So they went their separate ways, leaving behind an empty city. From then on, the School of the Bear declined—but their fortress of Haern Caduch was preserved.
One could say that among all the witcher schools, their ending was comparatively the best.
However, the fact that the Bear School was also being targeted was, for Allen, actually good news.
At the very least, although Arnaghad was cold and ruthless, he still seemed to care about the School of the Bear.
That was a breakthrough point.
"I'll speak with Arnaghad this afternoon." Sol said after a moment of thought, then changed the subject.
"Let's leave that aside for now, Erland."
"How did your investigation go this morning?"
.......