TL: Etude Translations
The dwarf’s words triggered a wave of tension among everyone.
Since departing from the Blood Bull Tribe, they had only encountered a few canines and mustelids, which fled at the sight of their formidable group. They had yet to face any large predators.
The cold weather couldn’t prevent Matthew from sweating in his palms.
He gripped his matchlock gun tightly.
He reassured himself with a laugh, “Ha-ha, Dwarf, you’re joking. At this time, large animals wouldn’t have awoken from hibernation yet! We didn’t encounter any fierce beasts on our way from the far north to the Blood Bull Tribe.”
“Didn’t encounter any?” The dwarf turned around, giving him a meaningful glance. “Then you’re very lucky.”
While they were talking, the sound of birds flapping their wings came from a distance.
These idiots, can’t they make less noise? The dwarf cursed the orcs in his mind.
Stanford shouted to Matthew and the other gunners.
They pulled out their firesteels and started striking them.
Dwarf Imar was puzzled, “What are you doing? Using fire to scare off wild animals?”
He then scoffed, “Ha-ha-ha, well, that’s one way to do it.”
Pointing ahead, he said, “We’re about to enter the mountains soon.”
Indeed, everyone felt the terrain gradually rising, and the trees becoming sparser, offering a wider view.
“Are we climbing Mount Rocky now?”
Stanford was a bit excited, surveying the surrounding landscape. They might be the first group to visit this mountain from the north in centuries.
“Sort of! This is one of the paths up the mountain, but we still have to cross several peaks to reach its main body.”
The dwarf sat down on the ground.
“I say, humans, we should let the team rest a bit, eat some dry food. It will be tiring to climb the mountain later.”
“Alright! I think it’s time for a rest. Matthew, tell the brothers to rest for a while and replenish their strength.”
The dwarf crossed his legs, pulled out a water bottle, and guzzled. His eyes then fixed on the dense forest to the north, as if waiting for something.
He noticed Stanford pulling out a cylindrical object, thick at one end and thin at the other, with crystal lenses embedded at both ends.
The human placed the narrow end of the tube against his eye, pointing the wider end forward.
Curiosity arose again in the dwarf’s heart.
Stanford scanned the surroundings with his telescope. However, as he turned the tube towards the dense forest they had come from, his face suddenly changed color.
“Alert! Someone is approaching us!”
The captain’s words struck like thunder. The resting explorers stood up, each drawing their weapons, warily looking around.
Stanford pointed to a higher ground to the south, loudly commanding, “There, behind that earthen slope. Get ready for defense.”
Imar frowned, “You shouldn’t be so alarmed, maybe it’s just a passerby.” He muttered to himself, “Damn, do humans have such good eyesight?”
“In other places, maybe, but remember you said orcs won’t enter the mountains. I clearly saw many orcs peeking around there; they’re definitely up to no good,” Stanford pointed towards the dense forest they had come from.
“Ah… ah… right,” Imar responded hesitantly.
“Come on! Prepare with us; you, as our guide, can’t afford any mishaps.”
Without further discussion, Stanford grabbed Imar’s hand and dragged the dwarf behind the earthen slope. Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn NoveI[F]ire.net
The location he chose was in a long shallow depression on the mountain. Lying on the north side of the depression, they could completely hide their bodies. The small mound on the north side acted like a natural low wall, providing good defense and a commanding view from above.
The team members crouched or lay on the inner slope of the depression, only their heads and necks visible from below the mountain.
“Oh! Damn it! They’ve spotted us.”
Gunther, the son of the Blood Bull Tribe’s chieftain, smacked his forehead in frustration, hidden in the dense forest.
“I told you to keep it down.”
He kicked a nearby orc hard, causing him to grimace in pain.
“Ah! They’ve stopped. Haha, humans, you’re seeking your own demise! It’s a bit early, but no matter, we can deal with you here. It’s a shorter way back home. Warriors, grab your weapons, charge and tear them apart! Leave no survivors.”
Gunther swung his huge, spike-covered club, leading the charge out of the forest towards their target.
Stanford, holding a telescope, quietly counted the number of unwelcome guests. Eventually, 50 orcs emerged from the forest.
From their posture, he had no doubt these hairy creatures came with malicious intent.
The orcs halted about a hundred meters from them, and one continued forward, stopping about fifty meters away and shouted, “Lay down all your valuables, including weapons, and we’ll let you leave.”
Stanford understood the words and yelled back defiantly from a distance, flipping the middle finger, “Go to hell!”
His reply enraged Gunther. How dare these frail and outnumbered humans provoke him.
Without hesitation, he waved his club and led his warriors to charge up the slope.
“You’ll pay for your stupidity!”
He roared as he ran, targeting the human who had gestured rudely.
Dwarf Imar lay calmly on the ground, planning to act only after the humans and orcs started fighting. Revealing himself now could get him killed by the humans.
The orcs had closed to within a hundred meters of the humans.
Imar suddenly heard an abrupt booming sound, followed by the orc leading the charge collapsing to the ground, then rolling down the slope.
Before he could comprehend why the orc fell, unfamiliar with such a sound, he instinctively turned to find its source but only saw lingering smoke.
Then a second shot rang out. This time, the dwarf clearly saw it came from a long device the humans held, specifically a long iron barrel mounted on a wooden base.
With each sound, flames erupted from the barrel’s muzzle, followed by a cloud of smoke.
And another orc warrior fell, his fate unknown.
The orc casualties were clearly caused by that device. Imar instantly made the connection.
But how…? Imar, confident in his eyesight and reflexes, could deflect stones thrown with full force by his cousin using a small round shield.
But he didn’t see a single bolt or anything else being shot from the humans’ side towards the orcs.
What exactly were these humans capable of?