Iron Powder and Spellcasters

  Chapter 87 The Dance to the Styx

   It was late at night, but the Red Pine Manor was not silent.

  The Veneta people went back to rest after eating and drinking, but the banquet of the Hurds would not end like this.

   After checking the preparations for the last time, Winters dragged his exhausted body onto the plank. He just wanted to take the time to rest for a while, but he couldn't fall asleep at all.

   Not because he was nervous, but because it was too loud—the Hurds didn't seem to be enjoying themselves just eating and drinking, and began to beat their drums and sing songs again.

   Winters sleeps so lightly that he can't fall asleep with just the slightest sound—casters generally have poor sleep—not to mention the constant noise pollution of the Heards. -

   Tossed and turned on the plank for a long time, but he couldn't sleep anyway. Several times, just as one foot entered the threshold of dreamland, it was pulled out by the sound of drums and singing outside the house.

   After being awakened several times in the half-sleep, Winters' anger grew. He wanted to brew some sleep-aiding herbs to drink, but after fumbling for a long time, he remembered that he had already given all the herbs to Karman.

   Angrily, Winters slammed the pillow to the ground: "[Incompetent, furious, vulgar words]! What are you doing if you don't sleep in the middle of the night!"

   simply didn't sleep, Winters put on his coat and kicked the door open, angrily looking for old Hestas, who was vaguely the spiritual leader of the group.

   "Are you coming to our feast too? Mr. Montagne?" Hestas sat comfortably by the bonfire and looked at Winters with a smile on his face.

   Seeing this old man Hurd, Winters didn't get angry. In the state of neurasthenia, his rationality could no longer restrain the urge to curse: "Why don't you take a good rest before you set off and do it here?"

Hearing Winters' vulgar words, Hestas was not angry, still smiling: "The banquet must be finished. In our Heard language, the word 'banquet' is derived from 'eat' and The word 'laugh' is not enough to just eat a big meal. Banquets are an important part of the life of the Hurd people, and these children have never attended a banquet since they were sold here."

   reached out his hand not to slap the smiling face, and Winters was embarrassed to say swear words.

   By the bonfire, several Heard men danced, and Hestas stared at the dancers by the fire.

  It is completely different from the ballroom dance of Veneta, the dance that the Hurd people are dancing is fierce and unrestrained. In Winters' view, it's more of a show of physical fitness than a dance.

The   Hard men kicked the ground, flapping their arms against their chests and calves. They squat or jump up, completing difficult dance moves one after another.

   Even Winters, who came with anger, was attracted by this unrestrained and fierce dance.

   "This is 'Cour Valletta'." Hestas said in a trance: "Go to the dance of the Styx."

   "Styx? What is it?" Winters asked uncertainly.

"It is the river that separates the living and the dead. In our legend, after the dead cross the river Styx, they can never return to the world." Hestas said lightly: "Young people, they are jumping to the river of death. Dance. We are determined to die, but please keep your promise to return the women and children to the land of the Hurds."

Winters is silent: "I never trust promises and oaths, but all I can give you is promises. If I'm alive, I'll personally arrange for them to go home. If I die, the Serbian army chief will take care of it. , I have left him a letter."

"I trust you because I know you are a person with a sense of honor." Hestas sighed: "Just send the women and children back. For a tribe, nothing is more important than women and children, even if The men are dead, and as long as the women and children survive, the tribe will soon be prosperous."

   "But can there be no men in the tribe to protect them?"

  Hestas smiled: "The Hurds here are all from different tribes. Many of them were originally enemies. When they return to the grassland, they will naturally return to their relatives."

   "Who the **** are you?"

"Me? I'm just a shaman without a tribe." Hestas changed his sitting position and stopped looking at Winters: "It's just that I found my own tribe in the alien land. "

   Winters' heart moved, he also sat down and asked: "Do you mean the shaman is the magician?"

   "No, the shaman is just the person responsible for communicating with the gods. As for the magician you mentioned...there are no magicians among the Hurds."

   "But you can really do things that others can't, right?" Winters repeatedly asked: "I see, you let the oil spontaneously ignite, and you can't do it if you are not skilled enough in fire burning."

   "Some shamans can indeed do things that others can't." Hestas said calmly: "But it's all a gift from the gods. The gods have chosen us so that we can use these abilities."

Winters slapped himself on the thigh hard, and for the first time came into contact with another system of divine arts, his voice was shaking: "Then what is your training mode? I mean... how did you choose those who were How did God's gifted children grow their abilities?"

  Hestas looked at Winters with a half-smile, but said nothing.

   There are magic users in this world, and there are many magic users in the Catholic Church. The existence of gods that the 35th Association does not agree with, but the effect of the magic is real, which makes the atheism theory of the alliance spellcasters unable to be self-consistent.

   In this regard, there is a hypothesis circulating in the Magic War Bureau: that the users of divine arts are also spellcasters, but their system of using spellcaster abilities is different from that of alliance spellcasters.

   But this assumption can only stay on the assumption that magic is a secret of the Catholic Church, and the Magic War Bureau cannot know the content of the magic system, nor can it find the autopsy of the priest.

   But now, Winters discovered that a similar system of divine arts existed in alien races outside of "civilization". People who pride themselves on being civilized do not think that there can be magic users and magicians among the wild nomads, but the old man in front of him obviously can use magic-like abilities.

   Perhaps this exotic magic can be used to break the system of the Catholic Church's magic. Thinking of this, Winters almost trembled with excitement.

   But the thin and dark old man in front of him smiled and looked at Winters without saying a word.

   Looking at the half-smiley mouth and playful eyes, Winters was discouraged. Since the Catholic Church strictly kept the secrets of divine arts, so did the shamans of the Hurds.

   "Can't say yes?" Winters sighed.

   "I can tell you, but can you keep it a secret for me?"

   suddenly regained his energy, Winters nodded again and again: "Yes, of course."

   "Well, I can too."

  Winters, who was speechless by choking, stood up, patted the dirt and grass clippings on his trousers, and said angrily, "You guys continue, I'm going back to sleep."

   "Young man, why sleep for a long time before you die, you will sleep forever after death." Hestas looked very happy now.

"Yeah, if you don't sleep well when you're alive, you'll be buried in the soil and sleep forever." Winters immediately pushed back, he suddenly thought about something again, and asked the old man with a strange expression: "I said, you guys I also ate the meat, drank the wine, and danced. According to this atmosphere, should I…”

   He didn't say what it was, but made a half fist with his left hand, and then "snapped" a few times with the **** of his right hand.

   Winters in a normal state would never make such obscene actions, but he was not only nervous, but also in a very bad mood. The dam of reason has collapsed, and now he just wants to disgust the old **** in front of him.

  Hestas smiled and replied calmly; "I think, it should be."

"Tomorrow we are going to die with the Tanirians. Your people don't have a good night's rest tonight. They are drinking, dancing, and sun-kissing. Do you **** have the strength to fight tomorrow?" The old man's attitude made Wen Wen Tess was furious.

Unexpectedly, the old shaman didn't take any hesitation, and said generously: "Men are going to go to **** tomorrow, don't you think it makes sense to not let them last a little bit with women? They may not be able to come back tomorrow, naturally they want to Find a way to pass on your own blood. The same is true for you. If you die tomorrow, your blood will be cut off, don't you feel sorry? Well... If you want, I can also help you pull the strings, I I think some women will like your good body."

If it was the usual virgin young Winters, he would have blushed to the bottom of his ears by now, but now the sleep-deprived Winters has been occupied by another personality, and he viciously fought back: "Your shaman of the Hurds is also responsible for pulling leather strips?"

   "Women are attracted to men, just as men are attracted to women. If a girl wants you, it means that you are attractive, which is a compliment to you." The old shaman Hestas said with a natural expression.

   Winters suddenly realized: either the old man's face has become thick to a certain extent, or the old man's spiritual realm has surpassed him by several levels.

   Anyway, no matter how vicious what he said, it couldn't hurt the old man one bit.

"You are very tall, and your body looks strong. You seem to be a Chosen One. Bringing in the blood of the Chosen One is a great thing for my tribe, and it is a great thing to pass on a better bloodline. Is it wrong?" The old shaman asked solemnly, "You don't need a good horse to match a mare to breed a horse, do you still use a sloppy horse?"

   The old man's serious heresy and the series of rainbow farts made Winters with a vicious personality unable to speak. Winters blushed and retorted: "People are people! Not beasts!"

"There is no difference between people and animals." Hestas said with a light smile: "The good people are the best animals, and the bad people are the worst animals. The stallions in the horse herd are always fighting for the right to mate. In the tribe All the men want to pass on their blood. People are animals, and there is little difference."

   "Humans and animals are different." Winters wanted to retort, but he suddenly felt that the force of the sentence was too low.

   Take a look at the living conditions of these Hurd slaves and Senas indentured slaves. Are they really treated as adults by the Kalman family? They are people, but they are also animals that walk upright, and they don't even own it.

   "Humans also have animal instincts, but unlike animals, humans can suppress instincts." Winters knew that such words would not convince the other party. He thought for a while, then smiled and said: "I have a good friend who is taller and stronger than me. He has long legs, a tiger back and a waist, and is also a top swordsman master. If there is a chance in the future, I will introduce him to you for breeding. "

  The old shaman nodded happily.

   Thinking of Axel, Winters not only let out a long sigh. But only a month and a half has passed, and life in the military academy already seems like a dream.

   Two months ago, I would never have imagined that two months later, I would hide in the enemy's small island above the sea, and lead a small group of slaves and remnants to fight the enemy.

  What is Axel doing now?

   Winters had lost his temper, not even the thought of anger, all he felt was tiredness.

   He bowed to Mustas, and the old shaman straightened his back and accepted it calmly.

   Winters turned away and returned to the temporary accommodation.

   With a kick of his boots, he fell on the bed and soon fell asleep.

  I don't know how long it took, and I don't know where he came from, Winters entered a gladiatorial arena, he was carrying a shield and a spear, and the people next to him were smearing olive oil on him.

  The olive oil starts on the feet, then on the waist, then on the chest, and then...where the **** is this!

   The thing with olive oil… hand? is the hand! It's hot, it's soft...not a man's hand, it's a woman's hand!

   Winters, who was sleeping, woke up suddenly, and pushed the strange woman away from him - a Heard woman really touched the room!

  Winters, who was woken up for the second time, was shocked and angry. He got up with no suspense and overwhelming impulsiveness. In his rage, he did not hesitate to use the sound explosion technique to curse: "Get out!"

   The strange woman who fell on the ground was startled by the deafening pop, and then ran out screaming. The whole manor probably heard this roar, and the singing and drums of the Heards outside the house stopped.

   Exhausted Winters fell back to bed with tinnitus and slept soundly. This time, no one dared to disturb him again.

  —cut—

   In Guitu City on the other side of the sea, the Army Command of the United Provinces Republic.

  Axel, who was on the night shift, was awakened by a knock on the door.

   A senior stood anxiously at the door of the duty room and said out of breath, "Three to zero unanimously approved... condemnation... mobilization order... war budget..."

  Senior swallowed, tried hard to calm down, and held Axel's arm tightly: "...We...we're going to send troops too."

  —cut—

   In the Hurd longhouse, the half-eldest who ambushed Winters served Hestace lying on the meadow.

   "Don't go with you tomorrow, the Veneta people will send you back to the grasslands and protect your sister back to find your elder brother." Even if the two were alone, Hestas still spoke in blunt Continental.

   "[Herde] I'm no longer a child, and I can kill people too." The half-eldest said in disapproval.

Hestas tapped the lower half of the head with his withered hand: "Speak the language of the two-legged man, don't speak our language. When you get home, you have to practice the language of the two-legged man from time to time... It's a pity that that I won't be able to accompany you to practice."

"[Common language] Those two-legged guys are just trying to take advantage of us." The half-eldest also said in blunt Continental: "I don't understand why you're making deals with them and... and having a kool with that guy. Hittahi Ritual…”

"Silly boy, do you want to be a slave on this island for the rest of your life? You still remember what the grasslands are like. If your children are born, they will be slaves through and through." Hestas rubbed half of his hair: "This is the best chance for you to return to your homeland. If we don't pay the blood money, even if the Veneta people take this island, we will not be freed."

   The half-eldest made an "oh" sound.

"I know you're not convinced, you're not convinced by the two-legged people." Hestas said earnestly: "There's nothing to be against, we really lost, otherwise we wouldn't be here. I teach you their language, which is I want you to be able to learn their knowledge, only by learning from those who defeated us, the defeat will not be fought in vain, and your children will not be enslaved like us..."

   Outside the house, the Hurds who were in charge of finishing put out the bonfire.

  The feast is over, only blood and fire remain.

Thanks to the book friends who have voted for the recommendation before, thank you Yan Yunsan, Ami, writersblock, justice and purity is koala, book friend 20181013204343295, Yuan Hongjian, please call me Pleasant Goat for the recommendation vote, social justice old king, thank you to all book friends .

   (end of this chapter)