Steel, Explosives, and Spellcasters-Chapter 1007 - 56 Interlude_4
Chapter 1007 -56 Interlude_4
Having said that, Winters issued several commands to the fierce-looking bulldog, and it obediently performed actions such as sitting, lying down, and rolling over.
After a set of actions, Winters opened his hand, and the bulldog eagerly licked off the jerked meat.
“Are you implying…” Caman asked dubiously, “that Herder Shamans also coerce animals in this way?”
“What I’m telling you is that Herder Shamans also have similar experience and methods. Essentially, it’s like the pillars of a temple; even though the Herders drape layer upon layer of what they call ‘rituals,’ ‘traditions,’ and ‘rules’ around the pillars, what ultimately supports the temple are still the stone columns. The underlying principle that Herder Shamans use to coerce animals is fundamentally the same as how the Paratu Cavalry train warhorses.”
“Is it that simple?” Caman felt incredulous: “Feeding them sugar cubes? Jerked meat?”
“Of course it’s not that simple.” Winters retorted sharply: “Now that the underlying principle is clear, do Herder Shamans still need to feed jerked meat? Sugar cubes? Feeding jerked meat, sugar cubes, does one need the Chosen for that? They have more direct methods!”
Before he finished speaking, Winters had already taken out that oddly shaped bone whistle.
He patted the foreheads of the two bulldogs, took a deep breath, and then blew the bone whistle.
The pitch and timbre of the bone whistle were different from ordinary whistles, not particularly loud but more penetrating; Caman also faintly heard a sound resembling tinnitus.
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What shocked Caman even more was the reaction of the bulldogs.
As the bone whistle sounded, the two bulldogs became extremely excited, joyous, and content; they trembled as they crawled on the ground, and a pale yellow warm liquid even seeped out from under one of the bulldogs.
“Do you understand?” Winters threw the bone whistle to Caman: “Paratu People wouldn’t give warhorses sugar every time, how could they afford it? So, they have a special clicking device. Every time they feed sugar, they press the device once. Over time, even without feeding sugar, just by pressing the device, the horses would salivate.”
Caman stood still, motionless.
“So when I heard Bell describe the rituals of the spirit linguist, the first thing I thought of was the knack Paratu Cavalry used in training warhorses. Once I tried using the bone whistle, sure enough, this bone whistle is that Shaman assassin’s ‘clicker’.”
Winters sighed helplessly:
“In my opinion, that assassin is the true monster who has ‘penetrated the surface and touched the essence.’ To use beasts like objects, letting them execute suicide attacks, the Shamans see it as blasphemous and against divine will. That assassin trampled on all the ethical norms of spirit linguists, yet he is also the most efficient user of the Beast Taming Technique… such irony.”
“Wait a minute.” Caman grabbed the bone whistle, suddenly pulled Winters, and asked urgently: “You haven’t explained how the barbarian Shaman made the ‘animals feel delighted and excited’?”
Winters slowly showed a smirk, responding with an air of nonchalance, “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know?” Caman’s voice unconsciously raised.
“Correct, I don’t know.” Winters paused slightly, looked at Caman, and said word by word: “But you know.”
“How would I know?” Caman was utterly baffled.
“Of course you know.” Winters looked straight into Caman’s eyes: “Because within the Church there exists a divine art capable of achieving similar effects, though applied to humans—I am the proof!”
“Do you want to imply,” Caman felt deeply insulted and burst out laughing in anger, “that the [Glorious Blessing Spell] bestowed to the one and only Holy Church and the barbarian Shaman’s witchcraft used to stimulate animals are the same thing?! Please say that again to my face.”
“Calm down, I didn’t say they are the same thing.” Winters hurriedly soothed Caman: “As you said, the outcome might be consistent, but the methods could be different. And surely your [Blessing Spell] is not as potent as those primitive methods of the Herder Shamans, and Herder Shaman magic might not even be applicable to humans… and from what I’ve observed, you seem to favor subtly using the Blessing Spell during sermons; although the congregation leaves church happy, it’s really unethical for you to do this…”
“Nonsense!” For the first time, Caman cursed out loud and grabbed Winters’ shoulders to yell: “When did I ever use the Glorious Blessing Spell during sermons? What gives you the right to tarnish my reputation? Do you know how long I prepare for each sermon? Do you?”
The emotionally charged Caman nearly engaged in a scuffle with Winters right there, fortunate that no one else was around the lakeside in the morning; otherwise, it would have become a sensational story.
Once Caman calmed slightly, Winters carefully chose his words, cautiously suggesting: “If you feel I am shaming the Church, I can offer you a chance to prove that the divine art of the Holy Church and the… witchcraft of the Herder Shamans are not the same thing.”
“How do you propose to prove it?” Caman sneered.
“To prove it, we could only do a comparative experiment,” Winters’ tone was as calm as possible: “For instance, let’s get two more dogs…”
Caman was silent and got up to leave.
Winters quickly held on to Caman: “Wait, hear me out.”
“I don’t want to hear anything you say!” Caman’s stance was firm: “[Do not put your Lord to the test!] Mr. Montaigne, do not attempt to pry into the mysteries of creation, it’s not a realm you can touch!”
“[Faith before understanding, reason is merely the echo of faith. Without faith, the world cannot be recognized; with only devotion, you cannot approach the Lord].” Winters quickly recited a passage from the scriptures, earnestly telling Caman:
“If there truly exists a Creator, then all the laws governing the world are reflections of His great power. Exploring these laws, understanding them, doesn’t push you away from the Creator but rather brings you closer to Him. If you are truly as devout as you appear, you shouldn’t resist like this! [Do not put your Lord to the test]? That’s nonsense! Unveiling the face of the Lord is the only way to embrace Him!”
Caman, as if struck by lightning, stood frozen for a long while before leaving without looking back.
As Winters watched Caman leave, he shook his head and took out the snack bag, feeding all the jerked meat to the two big dogs.
“At least we’ve driven a wedge, don’t you think?” Winters rubbed the bulldogs’ chins, smiling and saying, “It wasn’t in vain that I read so many tattered books!”
