Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 130 Forget this world forever

The messy tracks stretched deeper into the forest, and Winters, following the marks left by the hunter, spurred his horse in pursuit.

The further they went, the more agitated and restless Redmane became. It gripped the bit tightly, shaking its head from side to side in resistance to the rider's commands, forcing Winters to use even more force to control the reins.

A fleeting dent in the mud caught Winters' attention. He immediately yanked on the reins, and the red-maned mane reared up on its forelegs, charging forward a short distance before stopping.

Winters rushed back to the mud pit he had just passed. He confirmed that what he saw was not an ordinary crater, but a claw mark.

Since the beginning of the beast plague, Winters followed Ralph in searching the mountains and forests time and time again, seeing countless wild animal tracks: bears, wolves, deer, roe deer, foxes, rabbits... He almost became a self-taught hunter.

But the claw marks before him were unlike any wild animal footprints he had ever seen in this forest before. They were both unfamiliar and familiar.

Indeed, he felt strangely familiar with the shape of the paw print, but couldn't recall where he had seen it before.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. It wasn't in Wolf Village, it wasn't in Paratu, it wasn't in the Taniri Islands. He had seen these claw marks before, but in Hailan's house... These were cat claw marks.

One palm with four lobes, toes but no claws—this is the shape of the claw marks of the Great and Little Generals, which Winters has seen countless times.

However, a cat's paw print is only the size of a thumb, while the "cat paw print" in front of him is large enough to fit his palm.

A giant cat?

Winters suddenly understood why the deer herd fled the depths of the forest as if fleeing, why no clothing was found in the giant bear's stomach and feces, and why the wolf pack risked entering the village in search of food.
The wolf pack wasn't migrating; they were fleeing. Top predators only leave their territory when a more powerful predator has arrived. And...more than one has come.

Suddenly, the red-maned horse, which was tied to the tree, neighed in terror. The three-year-old horse struggled violently, and the knot that Winters had tied was completely ripped open.

A gust of cold wind brushed past Winters' fingers, and in an instant, the hairs on his body stood on end, and a chill ran down his spine.

Instinct drove Winters to roll to his right. With a chilling growl, a scaly beast pounced on the spot where he had been a moment before.

Winters narrowly dodged the sneak attack from behind. Suppressing his deep-seated fear, he drew his Dussac scimitar as he regained his balance.

The old hunter had told him, "In the mountains and forests, no matter how fast a person is, they can't outrun a wild beast." He must not run away; turning around and running away would only lead to his death.

Startled, the red-maned beast ran deeper into the forest. The spotted beast chased after it for a few steps, then suddenly turned back.

Instead of launching an attack immediately, it stared intently at Winters, baring its teeth and growling as it slowly moved toward Winters' side.

Winters dared not make any big movements. He gripped his saber and slowly turned his body to face the colorful beast.

A man and a beast faced off in the forest, like two swordsmen dueling. It was because of this that Winters was able to catch a glimpse of the true face of this colorful beast.

The creature before them was terrifyingly large; its shoulder height was almost equal to that of Redmane, reaching nearly Winters' chest. Its entire body was covered in pale yellow striped fur, completely obscured by the dappled shadows of the trees.

Its appearance is somewhat like the lion on the Venetian flag, with a short snout, broad forehead, and long, narrow face, but its mane is very short, making it look quite strange.

But no matter how strange it looked, Winters didn't want to mess with it. Even a pig that big was beyond Winters's ability to handle alone.

First a giant bear, then a giant lion—Winters was starting to get numb. Could it be that everything in Wolf Town was bigger than average?
The strange lion began to slowly lower its body, its head almost touching the ground, its two shoulder blades protruding from its back.

"It's coming!" Winters thought to himself. He had never seen a live lion, but he had two cats. When a cat is poised to pounce, it assumes this posture.

The next second, Winters saw the lion's long whiskers slowly turn towards him, a sign that the cat was about to attack.

Winters steeled himself, took a deep breath, and cast a spell he had never used in combat before: Frighten the Beast.

A deep voice emanated from his vocal cords, amplified by magic in his mouth, and finally formed a wave of sound that spread outwards.

The basic spell "Frighten the Beast" is one of the Druid divine spells that the Magic Operations Bureau reverse-engineered.

Research by the Magic Operations Bureau has revealed that animals are extremely sensitive to low frequencies. Herbivores are easily startled by low-frequency sounds, and predators will also emit low-frequency sounds to intimidate each other when they encounter each other in the wild.

The principle behind the spell "Frighten the Beast" is to simulate and amplify the growls of large beasts when they intimidate enemies, and to use lion feces and urine as casting materials, so that the target animal will mistakenly believe that it is facing a lion.

This spell is mainly used to frighten warhorses or animals like dogs and wolves. No spellcaster has ever used this spell on a lion—or rather, no spellcaster who has done so has survived to write a report. Winters also doesn't have any wild animal excrement or urine as casting material.

But he had no other choice but to take a gamble.

A deafening low-frequency sound wave exploded through the forest, with the caster himself bearing the brunt of the impact. It felt as if a cannon was firing right next to his ear, and Winters' skull trembled.

The giant lion was startled by the sudden loud noise. It sprang up from the ground and leaped backward, disappearing into the bushes after a few thuds.

Winters, who had narrowly escaped death, wanted to laugh but couldn't. He didn't know whether to thank the Magical Operations Bureau or the strange-looking lion for having eaten a big breakfast.

Without having time to think about it, Winters took off running out of the forest.

After running only a few steps, Winters was suddenly overcome by an uncontrollable urge to vomit, as if fists were pounding into his stomach. He involuntarily knelt on the ground and began to dry heave.

Another gust of cold wind swept past him, and he heard the rustling of the bushes behind him; the giant lion had caught up.

"I knew it wouldn't be that easy!" Winters wiped the acid from the corner of his mouth, gripped his saber with both hands, and stood up facing the direction from which the giant lion was chasing.

The giant lion leaped out of the bushes, this time not engaging Winters in a standoff. Its powerful limbs slammed into the ground, its tail whipped up and down, its claws and fangs bared, as it roared and pounced on Winters.

The "big cat" was so fast that Winters didn't react until it took off, and it was in front of him in the blink of an eye.

The dense woodland provided Winters with some cover, and he immediately ducked into the trees beside him.

The giant lion's claws, which were aimed at Winters from mid-air, were blocked by the tree trunk. However, the pine tree, as thick as a forearm, was bent by the giant lion's paw. The claws then swept across Winters, who was unable to dodge in time, tearing off large pieces of cloth and flesh.

Winters first felt a chill on his back, followed by a burning pain. The fabric of his clothes was soaked with warm liquid and clung to his body.

Meanwhile, blood was dripping from his saber, and a sharp weapon wound was added to the lion's right foreleg—Winters Montagne did not have the habit of waiting to be killed.

The wounded lion did not immediately launch a second attack, giving Winters a chance to catch its breath. It retreated a short distance and licked its wounds as if no one was around.

But this action doesn't mean it's giving up on its prey. On the contrary, the giant lion has already decided that the human in front of it is a delicious meal, so it's not in a hurry to kill its prey.

Seeing that the giant lion's wound had quickly stopped bleeding, Winters gave a wry smile.

The current exchange ratio doesn't seem very profitable, and he must find a more effective tactic as soon as possible, otherwise he might as well find a way to end things quickly.

"I can't delay any longer," Winters thought. "The longer I drag this out, the more I lose, and the smaller my chances become."

But a cut a few feet long meant nothing to a lion weighing hundreds of pounds. Looking at the military knife in his hand, Winters realized he only had one chance, a desperate gamble:

Using the Arrow Technique to accelerate the saber, if enough kinetic energy can be injected into the saber, it might be able to inflict a fatal wound on this behemoth.

This was a gamble with everything at stake. Winters had never used his arrow-throwing technique on a sword before. Moreover, the saber in his hand was his only weapon at the moment, and he only had one chance. If he failed, he would have to rely on the giant lion for a quick death.

But magic was his only chance to kill the giant lion. After the bleeding stopped, the lion slowly stood up and began circling Winters again. It kept threatening Winters, seemingly trying to force its prey to reveal a weakness.

"I have to hit it in the head to kill it instantly." Winters kept reminding himself, "I can't get too close, or I won't be fast enough to penetrate the skull. I can't get too far either, or it will dodge. My casting radius is only two meters, so I have to wait until it's within three meters."

But the giant lion kept moving, making it impossible for Winters to find an opportunity to strike, while the distance between it and Winters was getting closer and closer.

He gripped the saber in a javelin-like motion, and Winters found it increasingly difficult to concentrate as blood loss weakened him.

Both humans and beasts are waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

The lion's ears suddenly perked up. It hesitated for a moment, then retreated to a position further away from Winters.

Winters knew the other man must have heard something, and soon he heard it too—the sound of horses' hooves, riders were coming this way.

It must be Girard leading the militia! Winters' spirits were greatly lifted. After receiving the little hunter's plea for help, he and Girard split up; he went ahead to scout out the situation, while Girard went to Dusa village to fetch reinforcements.

Winters immediately tapped the tree trunk with his saber to signal his position to the rider. He quickly realized something was wrong; the hoofbeats were too sparse.

The sound of hooves grew closer, and it seemed there was only one rider. A familiar warhorse appeared in Winters' sight, its red mane bursting out of the bushes. On the saddle of the red-maned horse was none other than the old hunter Ralph.

Realizing that it wasn't reinforcements, Winters disregarded the possibility of provoking an attack from the giant lion and shouted to the old hunter, "Don't dismount! Let's go!"

Winters' shout was like a starting pistol; seeing that Winters was distracted, the giant lion immediately pounced on him.

Ignoring the lieutenant's warning, Ralph whipped Redmane and was instantly beside Winters.

Just a few horse lengths away from the giant lion, Ralph leaped off his galloping warhorse. He tumbled several times after landing before coming to a stop, while Redmane, propelled by inertia, hurtled straight towards the lion.

But lions are far more agile than bears, and the giant lion easily dodged the charge of the warhorse. It immediately prepared to pounce on Winters again, and Winters gritted his teeth, ready to throw his scimitar.

However, the giant lion suddenly froze in place, and Winters was also stunned. He heard a sound that shouldn't have been there; he heard the mournful cry of a young child.

"You beast! Look at me!" Ralph roared angrily.

Winters noticed a gruesome wound on the old hunter's thigh, blood dripping from his trouser leg. What surprised him even more was what the old hunter was holding in his hand.

Ralph is carrying a lion cub.

The lion cub was only the size of a kitten, and had just opened its eyes. The old hunter held it up in front of him by the scruff of its neck, and it cried out pitifully for its mother.

It was only then that Winters realized that the giant lion in front of him was actually a lioness, and that she had just become a mother.

The lioness did not attack Ralph immediately; instead, she crouched down and responded to the cubs' calls with a mournful cry.

The next moment, the old hunter plunged his knife into the cub's soft belly and slashed downwards, instantly disemboweling the cub that had just opened its eyes.

Winters felt a buzzing sound in his skull, followed by a chill that ran from the top of his head to his fingertips.

The lioness let out a chilling howl that sent shivers down the spines of all living things, and pounced on the old hunter like a madwoman.

"Come on!" The old hunter stood still, neither dodging nor avoiding.

"No!" Winters threw his saber. The instant the blade left his hand, he entered a spellcasting state, pouring all the magic he could muster into the saber.

The lioness neither dodged nor avoided, but her movements were too fast. The saber missed its head and instead veered off course, embedding itself in its spine.

Despite suffering a severe spinal injury, the lioness did not stop at all and continued to pounce on the old hunter, reaching him in the blink of an eye.

Ralph then shoved his left arm into the lion's gaping maw, and the lion bit down hard, severing the old hunter's left arm at the elbow.

Ralph was suddenly pounced on by the lioness and knocked to the ground. The giant lion stepped on the hunter's chest and tore at him frantically. The old hunter's left arm was even torn off his body.

However, the hunter had also achieved his goal. When the lion tore off his arm, he also left a horrific gash in the lion's belly.

The lioness's organs spilled out, but she continued to tear at the hunter relentlessly. The hunter, with his last ounce of strength, also ripped open the lioness's belly.

Everything happened too fast; Winters had no time to stop it. He recklessly rammed into the lion, causing the massive creature, weighing several hundred kilograms, to stumble. The lioness stepped on her own intestines, and more organs were ripped from the wound in her abdomen.

Winters shielded the old hunter. The lioness glanced at the lifeless old hunter, howled, picked up the cub's carcass, and disappeared into the bushes, leaving a trail of blood.

Blood gushed from the horrific wound on Ralph's left shoulder, through which his heart was even visible in his chest cavity.

Winters wanted to stop the old hunter's bleeding, but didn't know where to begin, because the old hunter's chest, shoulders, and neck were covered in fatal wounds. He held the dying old hunter, tears streaming down his face.

“My debt…is paid…” the old hunter, in his final moments of lucidity, uttered the words with difficulty, alveoli gushing from his mouth: “Take…take care of my son…”

The hunter's body suddenly went limp, his pupils dilated, his eyes dimmed, and he died in Winters' arms, forever forgetting this world.

——Cut——

Winters Montagne's Spellbook

(This spellbook, having been carried around for years, has a tattered cover and its sides are worn and yellowed from being touched so often. The owner has made numerous corrections and alterations to the contents, and filled the margins with notes. In the corner of the title page is an abbreviation: WM.)

Spell: Frighten the Beast

Type: Composite Spell/Mimicry of Druid Divine Arts
Spell materials: dung and urine of large wild animals

Description: Simulates the sounds and smells of large wild animals to frighten herbivores and small wild animals.

Note 1: Mr. L said that wild animals do not fight directly when they encounter each other in the wild. Most of the time, they roar at each other until one side backs down. Perhaps this spell is also effective against large beasts.

Note 2: It works on lions, according to actual testing, but only for a short time.

----

Spell: Weighted Arrow
Type: Kinetic spell
Description: Arrow spells that use heavy objects as casting materials are more difficult to execute, but they also carry more kinetic energy.

Note: It is not suitable for use on a scimitar; perhaps a javelin would be more appropriate as a casting material.

I'm late.

The animals in this book that are larger than normal in size (giant eagles, giant lions, and giant bears) are all living fossils, possessing a certain level of intelligence. Their intelligence level is between that of a 7-8 year old child, roughly equivalent to that of a Border Collie.

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(End of this chapter)