Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 351 The Hunt (Part 7)

Before dawn, everyone had already begun preparations.

There were no more herds of free-range horses near the hunting grounds; the horses were all engrossed in chewing their feed. The hunters were inspecting their bows and arrows one by one, sharpening the arrowheads again and again.

As the first rays of sunlight fell upon Qingqiu, hunters from various tribes poured out of their camps and spontaneously gathered at the hunting grounds.

The sound of hooves thundered, dust billowed, hunting dogs barked wildly, and warhorses neighed.

“Ms. Navarre, please do not do anything dangerous.” Lieutenant Colonel Moritz politely expressed his concern: “Are you not frightened?”

"Don't worry," Anna replied with a smile. She wasn't afraid, just a little disappointed.

With just the sound of thunderous hooves, Anna could almost see the magnificent sight of thousands of horses galloping like a giant wave.

However, as part of the giant wave, Anna could only see a dozen or so of the horse's rump when she stood on its back, and she also got a lot of dust in her mouth.

Unfortunately, the only place nearby that offers a panoramic view of the world is Qingqiu, but not everyone can go up to Qingqiu.

The mission members had all changed into herdsman attire, and without speaking, they were almost indistinguishable from the Hed people.

Because the Iron Peak County delegation knew the Badlands Tribe, Little Lion arranged for Badlands Tribe hunters to accompany the Iron Peak County delegation on a hunting trip.

The group followed the Badlands tribe on horseback and eventually stopped outside the felt wall of the hunting enclosure, awaiting orders.

More than a hundred tribes of varying sizes and nearly 30,000 hunters were quickly diluted by the hunting circle, which was as long as [two meters in diameter].

[Note: The distance between the two locations is approximately ten kilometers.]
The hunting grounds designated by the Chihe tribe were so vast that even if all the hunters stood next to the felt wall, they would have to walk at least two steps on average before encountering the next person. Therefore, the people of Tiefeng County did not feel crowded at all.

The sun had fully risen, and the palaces and tents above Qingqiu became clearly visible, as did the herds of prey.

The mission members who signed up for the hunting were both nervous and eager to try.

Apart from Father Carmen, the blacksmith Berleon, and a few quiet people, all the other members signed up, and no one wanted to miss this rare opportunity to attend.

Old Sergei consciously took on the duties of a sergeant. While helping the others check their equipment, he repeatedly admonished them: "Listen up, you little pups! This is barbarian territory! You absolutely must not clash with the barbarians! And you are not allowed to reveal your identities..."

"When does it start?" Vasika's mouth was dry as he kept muttering, "When will it be our turn?"

Koshhachi led his horse past, and upon hearing Vashika's words, replied in a muffled voice, "The beginning is quick. When it's your turn, it's slow. Let's dismount and rest."

"Huh?" Vahika's eyes widened.

Koshhachi frowned, took out an arrow, and drew a row of circles on the ground from largest to smallest.

He first pointed to the largest circle: "Khan." Then he pointed to the middle and small circles in turn: "Leaders, you and me."

Koshhachi looked directly into Vashika's eyes and said in a deep voice, "One at a time, don't rush. If the smaller ones are in front of the larger ones, they will bleed."

"What does that mean?" Vahika seemed to understand but not quite.

"He means that the hunt should be done in turns, with those of higher status going first. That means it will be quite late before it's our turn." Pierre stepped forward and loudly ordered, "Everyone! Dismount and rest!"

Vahika immediately dismounted, and the others followed Pierre's orders as well.

Although theoretically, Lieutenant Colonel Moritz held the highest position, during his time back, Pierre had regained his status as "Blood Wolf's second-in-command"—through taking on a lot of work and subtle indoctrination.

Moritz didn't care how Mr. Michal established his authority. The lieutenant colonel was happy to have someone else give the orders.

He slowly dismounted and looked around—there wasn't even a rock to rest his legs on.

Moritz didn't make a fuss and sat down on the ground next to the felt wall, casually taking out a small water jug ​​from his pocket.

As soon as he pulled out the stopper, Mrs. Navarre's gentle voice came from in front of him: "Don't you want to participate in the hunt?"

Anna, leading the horse, looked at the lieutenant colonel with curiosity.

Moritz took a sip of mare's milk wine and replied without raising his eyelids, "Because Winters asked me to protect you."

“I can take turns protecting you, but you can only experience the grand hunt once. Are you really not going to participate?”

"I don't like hunting."

"Why?" Anna refused to give up.

Moritz casually replied, "And why do you ask?"

“Because Monsieur Montagne also dislikes hunting, but he won’t say why,” Anna pleaded earnestly. “He respects you very much, so I want to know your answer.”

Moritz sighed: "I only know my own thoughts."

"Please tell me."

“Well then, Ms. Navarre, please tell me what hunting is.”

"I do not understand……"

“Let’s say hunting is physical labor.” Moritz spread his hands. “Then the reason I don’t like hunting is very simple—I’m too lazy to move.”

Anna sensed that the lieutenant colonel hadn't finished speaking: "Are there any other hypotheses?"

Moritz smiled and sat up slightly. "Yes. And if we assume hunting is a recreational activity, then my answer is even simpler."

Anna waited quietly for the answer.

Moritz said softly, "Killing beasts doesn't bring me any pleasure."

Anna was speechless for a moment, and Moritz didn't say anything more.

Anna pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "I don't quite understand what you mean, but I do understand one thing—you are a very gentle person."

Moritz, who was sipping mare's milk wine, coughed violently as if he had heard the most absurd joke.

At that moment, twelve long horns sounded simultaneously in Qingqiu.

The powerful horn sound spread outwards from Qingqiu, reaching everyone's ears continuously and clearly.

The attention of everyone in Tiefeng County instantly focused, because the message conveyed by the horn was unmistakable—the hunt was about to begin!

"They're here?!" Vahika excitedly ran to the felt wall, craning his neck to look. "Where are they?"

The others also gathered around, and the group leaned against the felt wall, waiting anxiously.

The Red River tribe did not keep the "audience" waiting for long.

Suddenly, several plumes of white smoke billowed from the top of Qingqiu. The horn blasts abruptly ceased, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.

"Long!!!"

Inside the hunting grounds, herds of deer, sheep, donkeys, and other wild animals, startled by the thunder, began to flee blindly. Old Sergei's hair stood on end: "Cannons?"

“Of course.” Pierre said expressionlessly, “We’ve already learned that lesson.”

Vasika clenched his fists, somewhat annoyed, and said, "Weren't you hiding it very well before? Now you're not hiding it at all!"

“The past is the past, the present is the present.” Pierre clenched his fist as well: “Having cannons alone is not enough for the Red River Tribe; they also need to let others know that they have them.”

"Hey!" Vahika kicked the felt wall hard. "What grand hunt? It's just a show!"

A chorus of agreement arose from the crowd in Tiefeng County, whose own unpleasant memories were also stirred up.

Only Lieutenant Colonel Moritz offered a simple defense for the Chihe tribe: "All rituals are essentially performances."

Pierre wanted to say something in rebuttal. But when he turned around, all he saw in the eyes of the Badlands hunters was envy, worship, and jealousy.

Pierre had to admit that the lieutenant colonel was right—regardless of how outsiders viewed it, the opening performance was a great success for the Red River tribe.

As they were talking, someone exclaimed, "What's that?"

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw that a gap had suddenly appeared in the felt wall to the northwest.

More than ten riders spurred their horses through the gap and leaped into the hunting grounds.

All the riders were dressed in white armor and rode white horses, except for the one at the very front, who was clad in bright red armor and rode a red steed, standing out conspicuously amidst the white armor and white horse.

A large blue banner with nine horse tails followed closely behind the red-armored rider.

"Is that the barbarian chieftain?" Old Sergei asked in a low voice.

A deafening cheer answered old Dussac's question.

As far as the delegation could see, the hunters of Hed, regardless of tribe, were all shouting and cheering: "Yasin! Yasin! Yasin..."

Pierre also noticed that the shock and fear shown by several leaders-like Hurd people nearby were no less than those of the people of Iron Peak County.

Once the red-armored rider entered the hunting area, he immediately began chasing his prey. He drew his bow, nocked an arrow, spurred his horse forward, and shot, not stopping even after killing his prey.

The white-armored riders following behind would use long poles to lift up the carcass of their prey and display it to the hunters from all tribes without reservation.

At the same time, every time a prey is hoisted onto the pole, Qingqiu fires a salute, and the hunters from various tribes who have witnessed the white lion's agile figure cheer in response.

While the others watched the red-armored riders gallop and hunt with either intense focus or disdain, Anna took out her sketchbook and asked expectantly yet somewhat anxiously, "When can we see Monsieur Montagne?"

“Winters?” Lieutenant Colonel Moritz said casually. “Isn’t he with the White Lion’s brother?”

When can we see the lion cubs?

"Immediately." Koshhachi knew the relationship between the woman dressed as a man and Batu, and explained ingratiatingly, "First the Khan, then the Khan's brothers, then the noyans of the various tribes, then the nobles of the various tribes, then the hunters of the various tribes..."

"But the white lion has already appeared, so why hasn't the lion cub shown up yet?"

"This……"

Lieutenant Colonel Moritz sighed, coming to Koshhatch's rescue: "Ms. Navarre, have you ever seen a pack of wolves fighting over a piece of meat?"

"sorry, we do not have that."

"Where's the dog?"

"……nor."

“Then I’ll tell you, and you can listen. The wolf pack has a strict hierarchy. When the big wolves are eating, the little wolves can only watch. Only when the big wolves are full can the little wolves eat.” Lieutenant Colonel Moritz spoke in detail: “The same should be true for the Herd tribe. The little lions cannot participate until the white lions have finished hunting.”

Anna looked at Koshhachi inquiringly, and Koshhachi nodded emphatically.

"Don't worry, we'll see Winters soon." Lieutenant Colonel Moritz was in a good mood and joked, a rare occurrence for him. "But as far as I know, our esteemed captain isn't very good with a bow and arrow. You should pray he doesn't do it in public..."

Without any warning, Lieutenant Colonel Moritz's voice abruptly stopped. In an instant, he seemed to become a different person, and the faint smile that had been on his lips vanished completely.

Those listening noticed the lieutenant colonel's change and exchanged bewildered glances.

"What's wrong, Lieutenant Colonel?" Anna asked cautiously.

Lieutenant Colonel Moritz narrowed his eyes slightly.

Following the colonel's gaze, everyone saw the red-armored rider chasing his prey, and nothing seemed amiss.

"Give me your quiver," Lieutenant Colonel Moritz said coldly to Koshhatch.

Without the slightest hesitation, Koshhachi immediately presented the quiver with both hands.

“It’s not the barbarian chieftain chasing the prey now.” Lieutenant Colonel Moritz drew out all the arrows and, to everyone’s astonishment, broke off the arrowheads one by one. Yet his tone was unusually calm: “It is the prey chasing the barbarian chieftain.”

Before he could finish speaking, another clap of thunder sounded.

This thunder was different from the celebratory cannon salutes; it was closer, clearer, and more deafening.

"My God!" exclaimed a man from Tiefeng County.

The cries and shouts of the Hed people converged into a giant wave, pounding against everyone's hearts.

Severed limbs and dirt flew into the sky, and the horde of beasts, terrified, charged wildly in all directions. The spot where the red-armored rider had been was now engulfed by smoke and blood mist.

Old Sergei's eyes widened to the size of cowbells: "Beacon fire!"

Beyond the horizon, several plumes of smoke are rising straight into the sky.

In an instant, everyone realized what had happened.

The next moment, as if water had been poured into boiling oil, the leaders of each household shouted hoarsely for their sons and brothers, and the Hed people rushed to their warhorses. Some mounted their horses without hesitation and rode away, while others rushed into the hunting grounds without regard for their own safety.

"What do we do?" Vahika asked in terror.

"Wait," Lieutenant Colonel Moritz replied calmly.

Inside the hunting grounds, a rider in white armor charged into the dust and blood mist, dragging the rider in red armor from under the carcass of the red steed.

"Still alive?" the white-armored rider asked.

"I'm not...I'm not dead..." The little lion tore off his helmet, and blood was flowing from his left ear. Because he was wearing red armor, the blood and dirt were mixed together, and for a moment it was impossible to tell where his body was injured.

The little lion coughed violently, each rise and fall of his chest revealing traces of blood: "What...what should we do..."

Winters hoisted the little lion onto his shoulder: "Qingqiu."

[How did we get to the number "seven"...?]
[Thanks to reader "千丶幻" for being the Alliance Leader]
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(End of this chapter)