Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 1005 - 56 Interlude _2
Chapter 1005 -56 Interlude _2
“”A hybrid of a wolf and a dog is not a wolf?” Caman crossed his arms.
Winters fell silent for a moment, then answered after pondering, “It might depend on whom they are loyal to. If they associate with a pack of wolves, then without a doubt, they are wolves. If they faithfully guard humans, then they are dogs.”
“One’s origin isn’t so easily erased.” Caman frowned slightly, “They have the bloodline of wolves, so in many people’s eyes, they are wolves.”
“Maybe so.” Winters stroked the sleek fur of the wolf-dog, and reflected, “Don’t you think it’s tragic? Their loyalty is beyond question, yet their former master cold-heartedly exploited this loyalty. He strapped fragment grenades onto them, sending them on suicide missions. They didn’t know death was inevitable for them, and probably at the moment before they were torn to shreds, their minds were still filled with nothing but unconditional loyalty.”
Caman listened quietly, then asked with a hint of curiosity, “[Seeing a rabbit killed by the Hunter, a fox feels sorrow]; [Seeing their kind encounter misfortune, beasts shed tears]… You couldn’t be reminded of your own experiences seeing those two wolf-dogs, could you?”
Winters was speechless, coughing violently.
After recovering for a while, he asked Caman self-deprecatingly, “When did your attacks become so strong?”
“Who else to thank but my good teacher?” Caman bowed seriously.
This time Caman claimed a complete victory, as Winters waved his hand, “There’s no need to continue the debate over whether they’re wolves or dogs…”
“As you say.” Caman smiled.
Winters declared again, “I don’t know the Divine Arts of a Shaman.”
“I don’t believe you.” Caman’s smile didn’t fade.
Winters cut to the chase, “Do you think that being able to command animals is the same as mastering the Divine Arts of a Shaman?”
“To be precise, commanding animals is one of the barbarian Shaman’s abilities, and historical records suggest other Heretic Religions also possess similar Spells… This is something we’ve already confirmed.”
Winters shook his head gently, and asked an unrelated question, “On our way here, did you see how the Monta Shepherds herd their sheep?”
“I’ve seen it.”
“And the herding by the Herders? Have you seen it?”
“Haven’t seen it.” Caman was puzzled, “What does herding have to do with sorcery? Could it be you learned the barbarian magic from watching herding?”
Without a direct answer, Winters explained, “Herders ride horses to herd sheep because the steppes are flat, and grazing areas are vast. But Monta Shepherds can’t do that. Have you ever seen a Monta Shepherd riding a horse? Firstly, they can’t afford horses; secondly, the terrain in the mountains is too harsh, and neither man nor horse could handle the constant running up and down the mountains…”
“So what?” Caman tilted his head.
“So, Monta Shepherds use dogs for herding.” Winters spread his hands, “Of course, Herders also keep dogs, but the coordination between Herders and their sheepdogs, compared to the cooperation between Monta Shepherds and their dogs, is like putting a child on their first day of learning swordsmanship in front of a swordsmanship master.”
Caman furrowed his brow again.
“You say I can command beasts, but my ability to command these two silly dogs compared to the Monta Shepherds commanding their dogs, is truly insignificant.” Winters pointed to the mountains around the lake as he spoke:
“A Monta Shepherd just needs to whistle, and the sheepdog immediately knows what to do. The shepherd doesn’t even need to give orders; the dogs themselves know to drive away wolves and leopards, gather the flock, and prevent rams from fighting. And me? It took a great deal of effort just for me to get these two silly dogs to learn to fetch sticks.”
With that, Winters casually threw two pieces of driftwood into the distance, and the two wolf-dogs dashed out swiftly.
Soon, the two large dogs, each with a branch in their mouth, ran back excitedly.
“If this counts as commanding animals, if commanding animals counts as Divine Arts.” Winters asked with a smile, “Doesn’t that mean every Monta Shepherd is a Herd Shaman?”
Caman’s thoughts were jumbled, “It’s still… different…”
“What’s the difference?” Winters pressed, “Isn’t the outcome the same?”
“The approach is different.” Caman slowly unwound his logical train, “Shepherds do it through training, while you, you do it through magic.”
Winters asked assertively, “If the result is the same, how can you be so sure that I use divine Herd Arts, and not simply through repeated training to teach them to fetch sticks?”
“I’m not interested in having a philosophical debate with you.” Caman frowned even more severely, “If you like metaphysical disputes, I’ll find you some real debaters when the opportunity arises, and then you can argue as long as you like.”
“Doesn’t the seminary teach philosophy?” Winters was curious, “We all study a bit of it at the military academy.”
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Caman said irritably, “Scholastic philosophy is not the main course for… my order. We don’t need to learn content that could provoke debates, nor do we need dialectics!”
With interest, Winters commented, “Abandoning rationality? Skepticism? Your order’s thinking sounds a bit heretical, doesn’t it?”
“Shut up!” Caman lost his temper, “What do you know about heresy?!”
“Who else to thank but my good teacher?” Winters turned the tables and bowed as well, “Thanks to you, I’ve gone through all your books.”
Caman looked as if his energy was sapped, “Are you going to talk about the barbarian magic or not? If not, I’m leaving.”
“Alright, alright, back to business.” Winters became serious and spoke earnestly, “The things I’m about to say are not learned from books or classrooms, but from reflecting on a record left by a sage… and a bit of my own personal experience.””
