Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 371 Wedges
Although it was late winter, the mornings in Steel Castle were still freezing cold.

Apart from a few impoverished vendors who risked going to the middle of the lake to fetch ice, the rest of the Steel Fortress residents stayed indoors in their warmth, and no one had the leisure or inclination to go out for a morning exercise.

Therefore, at first glance, there were only two people and two dogs on the open lake shore.

“So…” Winters stroked the fur between the wolfhound’s ears, and the large dog whimpered contentedly as it was being petted. He looked up and asked Kaman, “Why do they obey me?”

Kaman hesitated for a moment: "Because of witchcraft?"

Winters' lips curled slightly as he retorted, "I'm not the shaman Herder, how could I use shamanic magic?"

They bickered so much that whenever Kaman saw Winters' smile, she instinctively wanted to retort.

But now he was the one asking for a favor, so the priest could only suppress his urge to argue and follow up with the other person's question: "Are you really not? Then why did the barbarians call you [Herstus] in Qingqiu, and why did some barbarians worship you?"

"You found out..."

Kaman scoffed, "I'm not blind."

“However,” Winters changed the subject, saying solemnly, “I do not know shamanic magic.”

Kaman laughed in exasperation, pointing at the two wolfhounds whose tails were wagging like windmills: "No barbarian witchcraft? Then how did you make them behave like dogs? A miracle? You're not going to say—you tamed the big wolfhounds with love?!"

Hearing Kaman's question, Winters coughed a few times, embarrassed. He hugged the two wolfhounds and defended them, saying, "They are dogs!"

……

After the bloody battle of Qingqiu ended, the Chihe tribe searched the corpses and finally identified the wolf-taming assassin as the beast spirit speaker [White Sturgeon].

The Chihe tribe detained the carcass of the Chinese sturgeon and firmly disagreed with Winters' request to inspect and take away the carcass.

The reason is that although the white sturgeon attempted to assassinate the white lion, he was still a true shaman and a chosen one, and the Red River tribe would never allow his remains to be desecrated by outsiders.

Winters retaliated by seizing the White Lion's warhorse, [Longwind], and the two sides barely managed to even the score.

So all Winters got from the white sturgeon was that peculiar bone flute.

However, as the warrior who slew the white sturgeon, Winters also had the right to choose one of the spoils from the sturgeon's remains.

The white sturgeon brought a total of six wolfhounds to Qingqiu, "consuming" four of them, and the remaining two were locked in cages and were only discovered when the battlefield was being cleaned up.

The tribespeople of the Red River tribe viewed the two dogs, which looked exactly like wolves, as evil creatures and originally intended to kill them. The young hunter Bell couldn't stand by and watch, so he begged Winters to save the two spirit beasts.

When Winters learned of this, he felt a little sorry for the White Sturgeon and asked the Red River tribe for its spirit beast as a trophy.

The Chihe tribe was happy to have someone take over the troublesome matter between these two "spirit beasts" and "evil creatures," and readily delivered the iron cage containing the wolfhound to Winters' camp.

The story should have ended here.

Because the two wolfhounds were too ferocious to approach, they had to be kept in an iron cage. Winters couldn't quite figure out how Whitebeard controlled the wolfhounds so skillfully.

However, there was a creature in Winters' camp that was even more ferocious than the wolfhounds.

Unable to sleep due to the constant barking of the wolfhounds, the "little guy" once sneaked away from Belle's absence to the wagon transporting the wolfhounds and gave the two wolfhounds a "job training" session through the iron cage.

From then on, the two wolfhounds quickly found their place. They stopped barking and attacking people. They would wag their tails to show affection when fed and could even be led around on a leash.

However... the little guy has never given up on the idea of ​​eating dog meat.

It always lurked stealthily behind the wolfhound, and despite repeated attempts to correct its behavior, it nearly succeeded several times. This forced Winters to put the wolfhound back in its cage.

To save the dog's life and prevent a tragedy, when the Iron Peak County delegation retrieved the gold statue and reorganized, Winters had Bell take the little guy south along the route, accompanying Lieutenant Colonel Moritz to escort the gold bars back to Iron Peak County.

He himself took two wolfhounds and traveled north, first returning to Jiangbei Province, and then venturing into the mountains.

This is the story of how the two wolfhounds appeared in Steel Fortress. Winters' inspiration for the "Beast Spirit Speaker Divine Art" also came after he arrived in the Republic of Monta.

……

[Back to the present]
Upon hearing Winters say, "They're dogs," Kaman immediately retorted, "Should we get someone to ask them?"

Winters fell silent.

During our trip to Monta, the two wolfhounds caused several misunderstandings.

The Republic of Monta is mountainous with limited arable land, and it has long needed to purchase grain from the Republic of Van. Besides tending their small plots of land, the most important livelihood for Monta farmers is herding, and they deeply resent wolves that poach their livestock.

So along the way, almost everyone hated the two wolfhounds.

Anna tried sewing a pair of conspicuous collars to put around the wolfhounds' necks to prove they had an owner. The result was only that they became more noticeable to the Monta people, doing nothing to lessen their hostility.

Winters had to explain again and again that "these two are dogs, not wolves."

Even so, the stubborn Monta people remained skeptical, with many Monta farmers turning away and muttering under their breath, "What's wrong with them? Keeping wolves like dogs? Ha, Veneta people!"

So if others were to judge, the winner would definitely be Kaman.

Winters stroked the wolfhound's neck and explained earnestly, "If I'm not mistaken, they are a hybrid of wolf and dog. Although they look like wolves, their loyalty is no less than that of dogs."

"Isn't a hybrid of a wolf and a dog a wolf?" Kaman crossed his arms.

Winters paused for a moment, then thought for a moment before replying, "It probably depends on who they are loyal to. If they associate with wolves, then they are undoubtedly wolves. If they are loyal to protecting humans, then they are dogs."

“Your origins aren’t something you can just erase so easily.” Kaman frowned slightly. “They have wolf blood, so in many people’s eyes they are wolves.”

“Perhaps so.” Winters stroked the wolfhound’s smooth fur and sighed, “But don’t you think they’re pathetic? Their loyalty is unquestionable, but their former owner cruelly exploited that loyalty. He strapped fragmentation grenades to them and sent them on suicide missions. They didn’t know they were destined to die, and it’s very likely that even in their final moments, their minds were still filled with unwavering loyalty.”

Kaman listened silently, then asked with some curiosity, "[A fox feels sad when it sees a rabbit killed by a hunter]; [A wild animal sheds tears when it sees its kind suffer misfortune]... You wouldn't have seen those two wolfhounds and been reminded of your own fate, would you?"

Winters was choked and speechless, then coughed violently.

After a while, he asked Kaman with a self-deprecating smile, "When did you become so aggressive?"

"Who made the teacher teach so well?" Kaman bowed respectfully.

This time, Kaman emerged victorious. Winters waved his hand, "There's no need to keep arguing about whether they're wolves or dogs..."

"I'll listen to you," Kaman said with a smile.

Winters reiterated: "I do not practice shamanic magic."

“I don’t believe it.” Kaman’s smile remained unchanged.

Winters cut to the chase: "Do you think that being able to control animals is the same as mastering shamanic magic?"

"To be precise, controlling animals is one of the abilities of barbarian shamans, and other pagan sorcery has similar spells recorded in the literature... This is something we have long confirmed."

Winters shook his head slightly and asked a question that went off-topic: "On our way here, did you see how the Monta shepherds herd their sheep?"

"I've seen it."

"Have you ever seen the Hede people herding sheep?"

“Never seen it before.” Kaman asked, puzzled. “What does herding sheep have to do with witchcraft? Did you learn barbarian witchcraft from watching sheep herders?”

Winters didn't answer directly, but explained, "The Hed shepherds ride horses to herd sheep because the grasslands are flat and the pastures are vast. But the Monta shepherds can't do that. Have you ever seen Monta shepherds riding horses? First, they can't afford to raise horses, and second, the terrain in the mountains changes drastically, and neither people nor horses can withstand running back and forth between the mountains and the valleys..."

"So?" Kaman tilted his head.

“So the Monta shepherds use dogs to herd sheep.” Winters shrugged. “Of course, the Heds also keep dogs, but the cooperation between the Heds and their sheepdogs is like putting a child who is learning to sword for the first time in front of a sword master compared to the cooperation between the Monta shepherds and their sheepdogs.”

Kaman frowned again.

"You say I can command wild beasts, but my ability to control these two clumsy dogs is nothing compared to the skill of the Monta shepherds in controlling their sheepdogs," Winters said, pointing to the mountains surrounding the lake.

“The shepherds of Monta only need to whistle once, and their sheepdogs will immediately know what to do. The shepherds don’t even need to give commands; the sheepdogs know how to drive away wolves and leopards, gather the flock, and stop the rams from fighting. And me? It took me a lot of effort to teach these two stupid dogs to pick up sticks.”

As he spoke, Winters casually picked up two pieces of driftwood and threw them into the distance, whereupon the two wolfhounds darted away.

A short while later, the two big dogs returned, each carrying a twig in its mouth.

“If this counts as controlling animals, and if controlling animals is considered divine magic,” Winters asked with a laugh, “then wouldn’t that mean every Monta shepherd is a Hed shaman?”

Kaman's thoughts were a bit muddled: "It's still... different..."

"What's the difference?" Winters pressed. "Aren't the results the same?"

“The paths are different.” Kaman gradually sorted out the logical relationship: “The shepherd is trained, while you are trained through witchcraft.”

Winters asked matter-of-factly, "Since the result is the same, what makes you so sure that I used the Hed magic, and not that I taught them to pick up sticks through repeated training?"

“I have no interest in philosophical debates with you.” Kaman’s brow furrowed more and more. “If you enjoy metaphysical arguments, I’ll find you some real debaters when the opportunity arises, and you can debate for as long as you want.”

“Doesn’t the seminary teach philosophy?” Winters asked curiously. “We learn a little bit at military school.” Kaman retorted angrily, “Scholarly philosophy isn’t holy…it’s not the main subject of my order. We don’t need to learn anything that might cause controversy, much less dialectics!”

Winters commented with great interest: "Abandoning reason? Skepticism? Your order's philosophy sounds a bit heretical, doesn't it?"

"Shut up!" Kaman snapped angrily. "What do you know about heresy?!"

“Who made you do such a good job, teacher?” Winters regained the upper hand and bowed in return: “Thanks to you, I have been able to read through all your books.”

Kaman seemed to have all his strength drained away: "Are you going to talk about barbarian witchcraft or not? If you don't, I'm going back."

"Alright, let's get down to business." Winters put away his smile and said seriously, "What I'm about to say is not something I learned from books or the classroom, but rather some reflections on the records left by a sage... and some of my own personal experiences."

Kaman noticed the change in Winters' tone and adopted a more formal attitude, listening attentively.

Winters cleared his throat: "We, the spellcasters of our Alliance School—if such a school even exists—believe that magic is not a wish-granting machine, it is not a 'from A to B' that transcends all paths."

If using spells is likened to 'firing a musket,' then Alliance spells don't directly give you a high-speed lead bullet. Alliance spells are like a matchlock gun with a stock, barrel, and gunpowder, where magic plays the role of the tiny spark at the tip of the match.

Every component of the musket should be able to be studied, understood, and improved, because it follows objective laws that we do not yet know. As for the method of exploring these laws, the only way is through repeated experimentation and verification.

Since your Catholic Church has scholastic philosophy, I might as well call the Alliance's approach "[experimentalist philosophy]"—if the Alliance spellcasters really do have a school of thought and a philosophy.

Kaman nodded expressionlessly.

“Spellcasters like me, destined for the military, are merely tools cultivated and trained by the Magic Warfare Bureau—I only gradually came to understand this after meeting you.” Winters sighed, somewhat regretfully, “I haven’t taken any courses in critical thinking, and no one has ever told me what kind of logic or ethics the Alliance spellcaster system is based on. Basically, all we need to do is know how to use magic…”

Winters paused for a moment, glanced at Kaman, and added, "That's something you're like."

Kaman paused slightly, narrowed his eyes, and asked, "You mean, the magic of your so-called 'Alliance School' isn't a 'wish machine,' but a kind of 'key driving force' similar to a flint, which achieves magic by 'giving a push' to an existing system?"

"That's my current view," Winters replied cautiously. "How exactly it works still needs to be proven through experiments."

"Okay, I understand. Please continue." A barely perceptible sneer appeared on Kaman's face, then vanished in an instant.

But Winters noticed and asked Kaman, quite perceptively, "What are you laughing at?"

“I didn’t laugh,” Kaman denied outright.

"Lying will send you to hell!"

"Can't I think of something happy?"

“You’re laughing because you think you’ve found a fatal flaw that I mentioned earlier, and you have evidence to prove it exists.” Winters stared at Kaman, speaking rapidly as he made his conjecture: “But you don’t want to tell me, so you can only declare your victory by smirking.”

Kaman turned to look at the lake, avoiding eye contact with Winters: "Alright, alright, let's talk about barbarian witchcraft."

Kaman refused to budge, and Winters couldn't force him to reveal the truth.

So Winters asked Kaman, somewhat disappointed, "Did you know that the Herd tribes actually have two types of Beast Spirit Speakers?"

Which two categories?

“Chosen Ones and Non-Chosen Ones,” Winters stated succinctly. “In the Hed tribes, a Beast Spirit Speaker refers to someone who can communicate with wild beasts, and it’s not directly related to being a Chosen One. The one I dealt with in Qingqiu was a Chosen One. Bell isn’t a Chosen One, but he spends all his time with the little guy—that incredibly lazy lion—and can communicate with him. So, in the eyes of the Hed people, Bell is also a Beast Spirit Speaker.”

Kaman nodded and responded with "uh-huh" and "uh-huh".

“Of course, this is how I, as an observer, distinguish them; the Heds themselves wouldn’t do it this way.” Winters picked up the wolfhound and placed it in front of Kaman: “Back to the original question, why do you think they obey me?”

Kaman tentatively asked, "Because... you also spend all your time with them?"

“Because they see me as the alpha wolf, the leader, a member of the family.” Winters answered directly: “The Herd shamans believe that wild beasts also have spirits, and they have the concept of family and group just like humans. Just like guard dogs will risk their lives to protect their masters, not because they are afraid of their masters, but out of a kind of love similar to that for family members. So most of those non-chosen beast spirit whisperers raise spirit beasts from a young age, and are naturally regarded as family by the spirit beasts—like Bell.”

Kaman doesn't care about those who aren't chosen: "What about the chosen ones?"

“The Chosen Ones?” Winters patted the wolfhound’s head. “The Chosen Ones’ Beast Spirit Speakers are another path. Have you ever seen cavalry training warhorses?”

“No.” Kaman shook his head.

"Horses are very timid animals. They are afraid of fire, loud noises, and the acrid smell of gunpowder. When they encounter these things, their instinct is to run away." Winters shrugged. "But the battlefield today is full of fire, gunfire, and thick smoke, so cavalry horses must overcome their instincts. So how do you think warhorses should be trained to overcome their instincts?"

"Place guns near them and let them gradually get used to it?"

“Yes, but that’s not all.” Winters took a small pouch from his pocket, opened it, and showed it to Kaman.

The pocket contained dried meat.

"While firing guns and cannons beside the warhorses, you should also feed them sugar cubes." Winters took out a few pieces of dried meat and fed them to the wolfhound beside him, explaining to Kaman, "In this way, they will gradually associate 'eating sugar' with 'guns.' Over time, the warhorses will not only not be afraid of the flashes of gunfire, but will even become excited by them."

After saying that, Winters gave the wolfhound several commands, and the fierce-looking wolfhound obediently followed the instructions to sit, lie down, and roll around.

After completing the set of movements, Winters opened his hand, and the wolfhound eagerly licked up the jerky.

“You mean…” Kaman asked suspiciously, “that the Hed shaman also uses this method to control wild beasts?”

“I’m trying to tell you that the Hed shamans have similar experiences and methods. The underlying principles are like the pillars of a temple. Although the Hed people decorate the pillars with layers of veils called ‘rituals,’ ‘traditions,’ and ‘rules,’ the pillars are still the stone pillars that ultimately support the temple. The underlying principles by which the Hed shamans control wild beasts are essentially no different from how the Platonic cavalry train their warhorses.”

"It's that simple?" Kaman found it unbelievable. "Feeding candy? Feeding jerky?"

"Of course it's not that simple." Winters shouted sharply, "Now that the underlying principles have been understood, why does the Shaman Hed need to feed him jerky? Feed him candy? And why would he need the Chosen Ones to feed him jerky and candy? They have a more direct way!"

Before he finished speaking, Winters had already taken out the strangely shaped bone flute.

He patted the heads of the two wolfhounds, took a deep breath, and then blew the bone flute.

The bone whistle has a different range and timbre than ordinary whistles. It is not loud, but it has a stronger penetrating power. Kaman could also faintly hear a sound similar to tinnitus.

What shocked Kaman even more was the wolfhound's reaction.

As the bone flute sounded, the two wolfhounds became extremely excited, joyful, and satisfied. They trembled and lay prostrate on the ground, with a warm, pale yellow liquid even flowing out from under one of the wolfhounds.

"Do you understand?" Winters tossed the bone flute to Kaman: "The Paratus don't feed their warhorses sugar every time, they can't afford it. So they have a special clicker. They press the clicker every time they feed them sugar. Over time, even if the Paratus don't feed their warhorses sugar, just pressing the clicker will make the horses drool."

Kaman stood still, without making any movement.

"So when I heard Bell describe the ritual of the Beast Spirit Speaker, the first thing that came to mind was the trick of the Paratul cavalry in training their warhorses. I tried it with the bone flute, and sure enough, this bone flute was the 'clicker' of that shaman assassin."

Winters sighed helplessly:

"If you ask me, that assassin is the real monster who 'penetrates appearances and touches the essence.' Using spirit beasts like objects and sending them to carry out suicidal attacks is considered a blasphemous act by shamans. That assassin trampled on all the ethics and morality of the Beast Spirit Speakers, yet he was also the most efficient Beast Spirit Speaker in using [Beast Taming]... How ironic."

“Wait a minute.” Kaman gripped the bone flute, suddenly grabbed Winters, and asked urgently, “You still haven’t told me how the barbarian shaman manages to ‘make wild beasts feel pleasure and excitement’?”

Winters slowly revealed a smile and replied casually, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Kaman's voice rose unconsciously.

“That’s right, I don’t know.” Winters paused briefly, looked at Kaman, and said, word by word, “But you do know.”

"How could I possibly know?" Kaman was utterly baffled.

“Of course you know.” Winters looked directly into Kaman’s eyes: “Because within the Catholic Church, there are divine spells that can achieve similar effects, except the target is a human—I am the proof!”

“You mean to say,” Kaman felt deeply humiliated, and he laughed angrily, “that the [Radiant Blessing] that my Lord bestowed upon the one and only Holy Church is the same thing as the witchcraft that barbarian shamans use to provoke wild beasts?! Say it again in front of me.”

“Don’t get agitated, I didn’t say it was the same thing.” Winters quickly reassured Kaman: “Like you said, the result may be the same, but the path may be different. Besides, your so-called [Blessing Spell] is obviously not as effective as the shaman Hed’s folk method, and the shaman Hed’s spells may not even work on people… And from what I’ve observed, you like to secretly use Blessing Spells during sermons. Although the believers leave the church happy, what you’re doing is really unethical…”

"Bullshit!" Kaman cursed for the first time, grabbing Winters's shoulder and yelling, "When have I ever used Blessing of Radiance during a sermon? What right do you have to slander me? Do you know how long I prepare for each sermon? Do you know?"

An emotional Kaman nearly got into a fight with Winters on the spot. Fortunately, there was no one else by the lake that morning, otherwise it would have become quite a story.

Once Kaman had calmed down a bit, Winters carefully chose his words and cautiously suggested, "If you feel that I am insulting the Catholic Church, I can offer you a chance to prove that the divine magic of the One Holy and Universal Church and the... witchcraft of the Hed Shaman are not the same thing."

"How do you want to prove it?" Kaman sneered.

“The only way to prove it is through a controlled experiment,” Winters said, trying to keep his tone as calm as possible. “For example, let’s find two more dogs…”

Kaman said nothing, got up, and was about to leave.

Winters quickly grabbed Kaman: "Wait a minute, let me finish."

“I don’t want to hear anything you have to say!” Kaman’s attitude was firm: “[Do not put your Lord to the test]! Mr. Montagne, do not presume to pry into the mysteries of creation; that is not a realm you can touch!”

"[Faith precedes understanding; reason is merely the echo of faith. Without faith, one cannot know the world; with only piety, one cannot approach the Lord]." Winters, quick-witted, recited a passage he'd forgotten where he'd seen it, and earnestly said to Kaman:
"If a Creator truly exists, then all the laws governing the workings of all things are manifestations of His great power. Exploring and understanding these laws is not about pushing you away from the Creator, but rather a path to approach Him. If you are truly as devout as you appear, you shouldn't be so resistant! [Do not put your Lord to the test]? That's utter nonsense! Unveiling the Lord's veil is the only way to embrace Him!"

Kaman was struck dumb. He stood frozen for a long time before finally turning away without looking back.

Winters watched Kaman leave, shook his head, took out a bag of snacks, and fed all the jerky to the two big dogs.

"At least a wedge has been driven in, right?" Winters rubbed the wolfhound's chin and said with a smile, "It wasn't for nothing that I read so many lousy books!"

[Sorry for being late, this chapter was a bit difficult to produce, but it's a long chapter, making up for what I missed on Monday and Tuesday.]
[I don't know much about Scholastic philosophy (facepalm), and I dare not "enlighten others with my own ignorance," so I will only briefly mention the historical context and will not go into too much detail.]
[And, ever since I saw a fellow reader say that it would be great if Kaman were a nun, I've found that I suddenly can't look at Kaman the same way anymore...]
[And also, every time I get a precious recommendation opportunity, I have to stop updating for various reasons Orz. Seeing the message in the site saying "Please keep updating non-finished works" made my whole body go numb (this sentence should be a fixed phrase, but it still makes me go numb)]
[Thank you to all the readers for your collections, reading, subscriptions, recommendations, monthly tickets, rewards, and comments. Thank you everyone!]
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(End of this chapter)