Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters

...

Winters had also met the great Shaman.

Perhaps the closer one gets, the more the aura of sanctity and majesty crumbles away.

Once the mystique was stripped away, amidst the complex adornments and ornaments, Winters saw that the shaman chieftain of the Hurd tribes was just a weathered old man.

Erhulan acted as an interpreter, and they conversed briefly.

"May fortune be with you, Hestas," the great Shaman said kindly to Winters.

"Have you seen Hestas?"

"I have and I haven't," the great Shaman replied, his words carrying hidden meaning, "Since the first note sung by the chanters, it has been the first time someone from outside the prairie has taken up the responsibility to communicate with the myriad of spirits. What about you? Can you see them?"

"I can't. Why would Hestas choose me?"

"I don't know, our legacy is a calling. Like the coming of spring and the passing of autumn, it happens naturally. Or to put it another way, it wasn't Hestas that chose you, but you who helped Hestas. If you hadn't appeared at that moment, the spirit carried by the name Hestas would have been lost. And you are the Chosen One, you yourself are chosen by the spirits of all things."

After some thought, Winters said, "Let's conduct that ritual one more time, and I will return the name of Hestas to you."

"Don't rush," the great Shaman said with a smile and a shake of his head, "If you truly are Hestas, you will know when the moment comes, just like Hestas choosing you. If you are not, then you have no need to worry, and the ritual would be pointless."

Winters remained silent for a long time, contemplating the other's rigorous logic.

"Your HeHaEr is a rare beast spirit speaker," the great Shaman then asked abruptly, "Would you allow me to borrow him for a while?"

"HeHaEr?" Winters frowned, "Bell?"

"Yes, the child named [Bear]."

"What do you want him for?"

"Nothing. He is your HeHaEr, I will not take him away."

"What does beast spirit speaker mean? Speaking with lions?"

"Of course not," the great Shaman laughed heartily, "Can Hunters talk to mastiffs? But Hunters can communicate with and command mastiffs. Mastiffs are willing to do many things for Hunters, not because they are afraid of them, but because they regard the Hunter as family.

The relationship between spirit beasts and beast spirit speakers is similar. It isn't about chaining them with iron or whipping them into submission—the spirit beasts regard the beast spirit speakers as kin. A spirit beast like the White Lion, once it reaches adulthood, becomes very difficult to approach. But when this White Lion was very small, the child named [Bear] was inseparable from it. Such a beast spirit speaker who has grown up alongside a White Lion is also a rare occurrence in the history of the tribes. At least, only one such name is recorded in the chanters' songs."

Winters retorted coldly, "You just want to bring the White Lion for the White Lion's sake, don't you?"

"Yes, but not only that. If he stays here, I will teach him and help him master the power of the beast spirit speaker. He is your HeHaEr, and I shall not keep him against his will."

After pondering for a moment, Winters said solemnly to the great Shaman, "Bell is a free man; he can decide for himself where he wants to stay. If he decides to leave, I will take him away. If you exploit him, I will come looking for you again."

The great Shaman nodded in acknowledgment, and the two parted ways.

...

...

While Winters was meeting with the great Shaman, another celebration was taking place in the great hall of Kingsfort.

This celebration was to declare victory—the victory of the Second Republic.

In the past two months, while Winters had been living quietly in the wastelands, Paratu had been a stage for one dramatic event after another.

First came the "April Coup," where the Blue Blood Faction and the Kingsfort Faction slaughtered each other in the streets, filling them with blood.

Then came the "May Siege," where Alpad led all the troops he could find to launch a fierce assault on Kingsfort.

The assault quickly turned into a siege because the fortifications of Kingsfort were too robust—otherwise, why would she be called a "Fortress"?

As the battle dragged on, the troops under Alpad began to desert.

In the end, even Alpad, a man who refused to concede defeat, had to admit: the siege of Kingsfort had utterly failed.

Ultimately, the shield proved mightier than the hammer.

Sekler, relying on the city guard and the conscripted militia, steadfastly defended Kingsfort while Alpad retreated to the North River province with his remaining loyal forces.

The North River province was Alpad's homeland and where the old nobility's roots ran deepest.

Now, the Second Republic of Paratu urgently needed to tell everyone that only they could represent the country.

They proclaimed victory through ceremonies and banquets, thoroughly branding Alpad and his followers as rebels.

...

Cynical literati commented thus: Paratu People always live in deprivation, so once they have something, they tend to overdo it.

The style of the great hall's banquet reflected this:

Glittering white walls, arched ceilings, golden hammered door and window frames...

Under the decorated ceiling, intelligence activities were taking place.

Amidst the clinking of cups and saucers, people exchanged all kinds of information.

The Paratu People knew this but did not interfere, because they were part of it, too.

The guests mainly fell into three categories:

The first category was the parliamentarians of the Second Republic of Paratu.

Parliamentarians were easy to distinguish—with their bright eyes, faces full of resolve, and bubbling with excitement as they spoke nonstop while holding their wine glasses.

They now dominated the place, and they were well aware of it.

The parliamentarians all wore a red rose on their lapel—standing in stark contrast to the "blue" rose, a defiant expression of their boundary from their enemies,