Black-and-White Bear

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Black-and-White Bear (黑白熊)
Alias(es)	Bear 393
Gender	Male 147 198
Affiliation	Han-Tang Warriors Battle Group; Bagnian Expeditionary Army 147 268 352
Occupation/Role	Player; captain of the Second Company; chief warrior/chief champion of the Han-Tang Warriors 161 266 274
Status	Alive during the swamp campaign against the Snake-Men 443

Power Progression

His documented progression centers on military appointments, reputation privileges, and equipment upgrades.

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Independent player → Han-Tang Warriors member	147	Joins after being offered Tang-style fish-scale armor, which he can keep after remaining with the group for more than a month.
Captain of the Second Company	161	Promoted after the Battle of the Great Square Formation through the regiment commander's nomination and his comrades' election. Authorized to command one hundred players, though his company initially has only twenty-odd members.
Qualified for an NPC auxiliary	198	Meets the battle group's requirement of more than one hundred reputation points. His outstanding combat record attracts volunteers, and Mr. Doran brings Young Langduo to serve him.
Chief warrior of the Han-Tang Warriors	266	Holds the position by this chapter. The commander commissions masterwork Vermilion Bird Fish-Scale Armor to mark his standing; he is also called the group's chief champion. 274

Background / History

Black-and-White Bear begins as a contented independent player. The Han-Tang Warriors recruit him through his enthusiasm for historical armor: he considers Tang-style fish-scale armor far more attractive than Western plate armor. Soon after joining, he is selected to march in the vanguard of a mixed, thousand-player infantry regiment 147.

Following the Battle of the Great Square Formation, he becomes captain of the Second Company. His later combat record qualifies him for an NPC attendant, Young Langduo. Initially reluctant to support another person and risk reputation losses if the boy dies, he comes to appreciate Langduo's care of his horses, meals, and equipment 161 198.

By the fighting around Hegrande, he is the Han-Tang Warriors' chief warrior. This does not make him the battle group's leader: Old Li holds that position, and some members ignore Black-and-White Bear's battlefield orders despite his reputation 266 274.

Appearance

• Build: Exceptionally large and imposing; his armored figure is repeatedly compared to a moving fortress 340 352.
• Face: Bears facial scars after the fighting around Hegrande 270.
• Signature armor: His commissioned Vermilion Bird Fish-Scale Armor has silver, vine-like patterns, decorative tassels, a bird-headed helmet, and wing motifs on the pauldrons 266.
• Central emblem: The breastplate's protective disk contains 360 ruby chips arranged into a Vermilion Bird 266.
• Travel disguise: During his solo journey through Minisia, he wears a ragged linen cloak over double-layered, six-in-one chainmail, with old leather boots and a bastard sword 378.

Personality

Black-and-White Bear initially welcomes combat missions as opportunities for glory. He is frustrated when a battle leaves him unharmed but without a kill, and openly resents Old Li taking targets he wanted to fight. Nevertheless, he can distinguish broken enemies from active threats: he accepts genuine surrender rather than killing prisoners indiscriminately 161 198 266 339.

His leadership mixes aggression with practical restraint. He proposes returning stolen goods to townspeople but lets his company members decide whether to claim their shares. In battle, he recognizes traps, stops reckless pursuit, and orders withdrawal when losses become unsustainable. His judgment is not always matched by obedience from other players 161 274 279 353.

Repeated killing eventually loses its appeal. After the war against the Retalians, combat brings exhaustion rather than excitement, and Old Li persuades him to accept a rescue quest. His concern for suffering civilians coexists with harsh judgments: he directs starving villagers toward food and work, but kills road bandits whom he suspects of murder and cannibalism 377 378.

He is blunt, indifferent to noble etiquette, and focused on completing his mission. During the Tia rescue, he refuses courtly meetings and personal rewards while supplies and security need attention. His duty can also be coldly selective: he orders Torres to prioritize Elena because she is the essential quest target. The subsequent massacre leaves him visibly burdened, despite his usual composure 381 387 390 392 393.

Abilities & Skills

Strength and Heavy-Weapon Combat

Black-and-White Bear combines exceptional physical strength with practiced use of oversized weapons.

• Wields a twenty-five-kilogram Mo Dao, cutting through an opponent's sword, shield, and arm in one stroke 274.
• Lifts and throws two fully armored soldiers using broken spear shafts 274.
• Breaks through spear formations with armored charges, shoulder strikes, and sweeping blade attacks 279 340.
• Uses a short-handled mace at close range, killing two wounded heavy knights after absorbing their attacks 340.

Helicopter Sword Stance

A spinning greatsword technique used during the defense of the Tia refugees.

• Rotates a 1.9-meter two-handed sword around his body, creating a killing radius more than three meters across 391.
• Breaks shields, swords, and chainmail; kills more than twenty attackers and briefly drives the Minisian assault back 391.
• Rapidly consumes his stamina. When he stops to recover, enemies exploit openings around his shoulders, ribs, and thigh armor 391.

Martial Arts and Agility

His size and armor do not prevent precise, flexible movement.

• Instinctively performs a deep backbend to avoid a ricocheting cannonball that passes close to his faceplate 267.
• Uses targeted kicks and body strikes to disable sword-and-shield fighters without swinging his Mo Dao 340.
• Follows Martha through difficult forest terrain with light steps and almost no trace on the moss 379.

Battlefield Leadership

He is effective at directing small assault forces and recognizing immediate tactical dangers.

• Commands a two-rank Mo Dao formation, rotating ranks against successive cavalry attacks 269.
• Recognizes concealed traps and the danger of pursuit scattering friendly forces 274 279.
• Leads five hundred Han-Tang Warriors in a disciplined advance against Golden Ear City 352.
• Prepares contingency orders, scouts likely ambush positions, and rallies defenders during the Tia escort 390.
• Limit: His chief-champion position does not give him unquestioned authority; players sometimes disregard his orders 274.

Armored Endurance

His survival depends on both his physique and carefully layered protection.

• Vermilion Bird armor, leather armor, and cotton padding let him withstand arrows, spear thrusts, and some heavy melee blows 340.
• A later combination of soft armor, chainmail, and a Bagnian breastplate prevents several potentially fatal wounds during the stream battle 390 391.
• Limits: Blunt impacts still cause pain, numbness, bruising, and exhaustion. Direct cannon hits remain lethal, while close-range grapeshot tears apart reinforced plates 267 340 353 391.

Fieldcraft and Improvised Combat

• Prepares for an extended forest search with salt and travel supplies, recognizing that edible plants and animals can sustain him 379.
• Uses concealment, terrain, and another player force's attack to bypass a mountain blockade rather than assault it alone 378.
• Blocks a Snake-Man Warrior's blade with his flamethrower, then kills it with a close-range white-phosphorus flare 442.
• Later stands amid more than one hundred dead Snake-Men with a flamethrower and bloodied entrenching shovel 443.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

Armor

• Modified Tang-style fish-scale armor — High-carbon steel construction, thickened torso plates, flexible scaled limbs, and cotton lining. Designed to resist large-caliber muzzle-loading musket shots at medium to long range, but not close-range large-caliber matchlock fire 147.
• Vermilion Bird Fish-Scale Armor — Commissioned for him by the warband commander. A master blacksmith and more than ten apprentices spend half a month making it; two bullets leave only small dents during the Hegrande fighting 266.
• Leather and cotton underlayers — Worn beneath the reinforced Vermilion Bird set for additional protection, cushioning, and warmth 340.
• Tiger-Head Mountain-Pattern Armor — Plain armor chosen for the Golden Ear City assault because he expects the fighting to destroy whatever he wears 352.
• Double-layered six-in-one chainmail — Used while disguised as a poor knight in Minisia 378.
• Bagnian breastplate, chainmail, and soft armor — Hastily assembled three-layer protection for the Tia escort; leaves gaps around his arms and lower body 390.

Weapons and Other Gear

• Spear — Used while pursuing routed soldiers through a looted town 161.
• Mo Dao / Cross Blade — His principal heavy battlefield weapon; a later example measures 2.5 meters 198 274 352.
• Melon-shaped mace — Secondary weapon carried at his waist, used for close combat and thrown attacks 340.
• Bastard sword — Carried during his solo journey through Minisia 378.
• 1.9-meter two-handed greatsword — Borrowed for the refugee escort; eventually breaks after sustained fighting 390 392.
• Telescope — Used to inspect approaching cavalry and the mountain blockade 147 378.
• Gas mask, protective gloves, flamethrower, flare gun, and entrenching shovel — Equipment used during the swamp operation against the Snake-Men 442 443.
• Eye of Poseidon — The Tia family's sapphire heirloom ring. He initially refuses it, then accepts it after the survivors' rescue 387 393.

Relationships

• Old Li — Han-Tang Warriors leader. Their relationship combines cooperation with irritation over kill-stealing and inadequate battlefield support. Old Li later steers him toward rescue work and authorizes his investigation of White Rock City 274 339 340 377 397.
• Young Langduo / Little Langduo — NPC auxiliary and attendant. Cares for his horses, prepares food and boiled water, and learns equipment maintenance. Black-and-White Bear comes to value his assistance after initially viewing him as a burden 198 270.
• Prince Chris — Source of military orders and the Tia rescue mission. Supports the Golden Ear City assault and withdrawal with artillery and cavalry. Black-and-White Bear cites Chris's orders when refusing a private reward 198 352 353 387.
• Iron Fist — His company adjutant, consulted over returning captured stolen goods to townspeople 161.
• Little Knife / Knife-in-the-Butt — Mountain Tiger Warband commander and rescue collaborator. Helps coordinate relief, checks on him after the stream battle, and cares for him during recovery 380 390 392 393.
• Elena Tia — Principal rescue target. She mistakes him for a hereditary grand knight and repeatedly interprets his conduct through noble politics. He opposes her decision to leave the valley and later questions her suitability as Chris's prospective wife 381 387 390 392.
• Martha — Tia family maid who guides him to the refuge, carries Elena's messages, presents the Eye of Poseidon, and entrusts him with the letter to White Rock City 379 381 393 397.
• Centurion Torres — Bagnian officer who helps organize supplies and protect the refugees. Follows Black-and-White Bear's order to prioritize Elena and dies holding off her pursuers 381 390 391 392.
• Mountain Wolf players — Rival players whose post-battle taunts escalate into a confrontation. Black-and-White Bear kills one challenger, while the Han-Tang Warriors rally around him 270.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Early Han-Tang Service

• Marches in the vanguard of the mixed infantry regiment and urges companions to target approaching cuirassiers rather than their horses 147.
• Leads his small Second Company against soldiers looting a town. The players kill around forty, capture more than fifty, and recover five wagonloads of stolen goods 161.
• Opens an ambush on Minisian Dragoons with accurate bow shots that kill their captain, disable a horse, and bring down another soldier 199.

Hegrande and the Bohemian Camp

• Survives two bullet strikes during the defense of Hegrande's supply route, then narrowly avoids a bouncing cannonball 266 267.
• Leads roughly fifty Han-Tang Warriors against cavalry threatening the artillery flank. The formation inflicts severe losses but is breached, with roughly a dozen warriors falling 268 269.
• Helps breach the Bohemian camp's outer defenses, recognizes an ambush too late to stop the wider advance, and attacks a spear formation to buy time for allied ranged weapons 274.
• Halts pursuit of another routed reserve unit, recognizing that the Bohemians are delaying and exhausting his scattered force 279.

Assault on Mikhail's Camp

• Leads an attack toward the command tent during a blizzard, smashing through tents and wooden obstacles 339.
• Prioritizes enemy archers, breaks the spear line, and kills two wounded heavy knights despite damage to his armor and shoulder 340.
• Reaches the command area as supernatural dark-red flames engulf the tent, then kills a richly dressed escaping man without apparently knowing his identity 340.

Golden Ear City

• Leads five hundred heavily armored Han-Tang Warriors through musket fire and breaks the Minisian center 352.
• Disobeys orders to halt after the breakthrough, advancing toward the city gate with roughly four hundred survivors 352.
• Reaches the gate district with fewer than three hundred warriors. Concealed Crouching Tiger Cannons devastate their formation, forcing him to order a retreat under Bagnian cavalry and artillery cover 353.

Tia Family Rescue

• Accepts a rescue quest after becoming emotionally exhausted by combat. Along the way, directs starving civilians toward Bagnian territory and observes Minisia's famine and inadequate relief 377 378.
• Finds Martha and reaches the hidden refuge. Protects its location from unnecessary disclosure and helps coordinate relief before its remaining supplies run out 379 380.
• Returns from a supply raid with enough food for approximately two weeks and medicine for the wounded 387.
• Warns against the refugees' premature departure, prepares their defense, and holds the stream crossing when a larger Minisian force attacks 390 391.
• Survives after his fellow frontline defenders are killed. Finds Torres's fallen rearguard and the massacred civilians before learning that Mountain Tiger players have saved Elena and a small group of survivors 392.
• Recovers in a wagon and accepts the Eye of Poseidon from Martha, telling her that she owes him nothing 393.
• Delivers Elena's sealed letter to White Rock City while still badly injured. Reports the nobles' response to Martha, while Elena mistakenly believes he has concealed her affairs from Old Li 397.

Snake-Men Swamp Campaign

• Enters the swamp alone and methodically burns contaminated areas. Survives a Snake-Man Warrior's ambush by firing a white-phosphorus flare at close range 442.
• When Athos arrives with three hundred Railway Troops expecting to rescue him, they instead find more than one hundred dead Snake-Men and Black-and-White Bear calmly standing over the bodies 443.

Notable Quotes

“Good news! A combat mission! Our chance to win glory has come!” 198

“Elderly and children, fall back! Soldiers, forward! Stand with me!” 390

“I'll live.” 393