Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 129 Pension
Everyone's hearts were in their throats.

After Lieutenant Montagne led his men into the mountains, three groups of militia followed, but there has been no news of them since.

The militia members' families all gathered in Hedong Village. They waited anxiously at the edge of the woods for news, and all they could do was wait.

But what they received was bad news. First, Mayor Mitchell, who had been unconscious, was rescued by his son. Then, militiamen fled from the mountains one after another, and almost all of them who returned to Hedong Village were injured.

According to the still-shaken militiamen, they were attacked by the devil's minions, terrifying werewolves as tall as mountains, and giant monsters with spikes on their backs... The thing rushed into the crowd and reaped their souls like a scythe sweeping through weeds.

Some militiamen were seen dead, and many more were lost in the woods. The families of the dead were devastated, and the families of the missing also broke down in tears.

The entire village of Hedong was gripped by grief, but fortunately, Father Kaman and Brother Reid arrived upon hearing the news. The two clergymen comforted the families of the deceased, led the families of the injured in prayer, treated the wounded, prepared medicine, and calmed everyone's anxieties.

As the sun began to set and darkness fell, the people of Hedong Village grew even more anxious.

Just as Kaman, Reid, and several village elders were discussing whether to send another group of people into the mountains for rescue, a village child excitedly ran up to deliver the news.

"I'm back! I'm back!" the child shouted rudely at the adults before running off to tell the others.

Upon hearing this, Father Kaman and the old mendicant monk immediately rushed to the village entrance.

At the western entrance of Hedong Village, the two encountered a bear-hunting team returning to the village.

Sergei, leading Lieutenant Montagne by the red mane, walked at the head of the procession with an air of triumph, like a victorious general. Winters, on the red mane's back, showed no pride or joy; only deep weariness in his eyes.

In comparison, Sergei seems more like the one riding a horse.

However, neither of them was the main focus of this "victory parade." The enormous bear carcass at the end of the procession drew everyone's attention.

The Dusaks tied logs together to make makeshift sleds, placed the giant bear's carcass on them, and dragged it back to Hedong Village as a trophy by six horses.

The people of Wolf Town finally had the chance to see the man-eating beast in person. The giant bear was enormous; an adult standing next to it looked like a child, and a child standing next to it looked like an infant.

The giant bear's tawny fur was almost entirely stained dark red with blood, and its carcass was covered in horrific wounds. Several spears and javelins remained embedded in the flesh—too deeply to be pulled out. The bear's head was mangled beyond recognition, and no one knew what kind of immense force could have caused such destruction.

Just by looking at the wounds on the bear's carcass, everyone could understand the arduous battle the bear-hunting team had fought to kill this ferocious beast.

Even in its corpse, the bear's lingering power still terrified the villagers. The children, however, were fearless. They ran and played around the bear's carcass, throwing stones at its head, until they were taken away by their parents.

The Dusaks dragged the bear carcass and arrived at the threshing ground in Hedong Village, surrounded by villagers.

The gloom in Hedong Village vanished, replaced by a festive atmosphere. Villagers brought out their homemade wine and meat to entertain the warriors who had slain the ferocious beast. The Dusaks drank their sweet wine heartily, vividly recounting their own versions of the thrilling tale.

Winters did not attend the "celebration" nor take a break; he had a lot of things to finish up.

It has been confirmed that four militiamen have tragically died after encountering a giant bear in the valley. They were all the breadwinners and primary breadwinners of their respective families. Their wives, children, and elderly parents are now devastated and facing an uncertain future. How their families will be compensated is a question that Winters needs to address.

And there are many other injured people, those with minor injuries are alright. But what about the seriously injured? Even if they are lucky enough to survive, they will lose a significant portion of their ability to work. What can be done?
Compared to these problems, issues like "some militia members have gone missing in the mountains and forests and have not yet returned, requiring search and rescue efforts" are minor matters.

With greater power comes greater responsibility, a truth Winters deeply understood.

In the archipelago, he only needed to fight; other matters didn't require his attention. But in Wolf Town, he wielded far more power than a typical officer, and his responsibilities increased significantly. He was accountable not only to the living but also to the dead.

He could easily get away with it, knowing he could simply walk away later. But Winters Montagne had gradually integrated into his role as a Wolftown resident officer.

Although he was a Venetian, he genuinely wanted to do something beneficial for this small town in the southwest corner of Palatour, at least to avoid leaving a mess behind.

……

"Is it over?" Winters, who was awakened in the middle of the night, suddenly felt a sense of unreality.

The ferocious beasts roaming the forest were hunted down, and the people in the villages of Langtun Town returned to their daily lives... Perhaps that's how it is.

Winters sent hunter Ralph to lead a search party into the mountains, and they found all the missing militiamen—both alive and dead.

Old Sergei led the Dussaks around Wolf Town, dragging the bear's carcass around and showing it off in various villages, giving the Dussaks a great show of face.

Afterwards, the villagers divided the bear meat among themselves. Sergei kept the bear skin, and the old man respectfully handed the battle-scarred bear skin to Winters, who then casually gave it to the hunter and his son.

Sergei then presented the bear's head to the Mitchell family. Girard was grateful for his old friend's kindness but did not display the giant bear's head as a trophy. Pierre, on the other hand, insisted on hanging the bear's head on the wall, only falling silent after being scolded by Mrs. Mitchell.

Most of the bear's internal organs were also divided up as meat, but the bear's gallbladder was taken by the old mendicant monk Reid. No one knows what use he could possibly have for that bitter thing.

There was a little incident in the middle. The old drunkard Rostov, whose son had unfortunately died in a wild animal attack, burst into tears when he saw others sharing the bear meat. He cried out, "My son's flesh and blood are in this bear meat too."

The people of Dusa village took pity on the old widower and buried all the bear meat they had received.

When Ralph the hunter saw this, his son Bell asked Rostov in bewilderment, "The bear ate your son, so you ate the bear too. Isn't that the rule of the Great Wilderness? Isn't wasting food the greatest disrespect?"

Winters heard these words, but Rostov, with tears streaming down his face, didn't hear them clearly. Ralph's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly pulled his son away.

The news quickly reached the neighboring town. Upon hearing that the man-eating bear had been killed and the garrison commander of Wolf Town had been wounded, Andrei immediately borrowed a horse and rushed to Wolf Village. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Winters still alive and kicking.

In order to see the bear's remaining head with his own eyes, Lieutenant Cellini made a special trip to the Mitchell family.

Looking at the bear head, which was almost the size of two people hugging, Andrei clicked his tongue and exclaimed, "Good heavens, this must weigh at least two thousand pounds!"

"More or less, maybe a bit heavier," Winters replied casually. "There's no scale here that can weigh this thing."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Andrei said enviously. "I dream of shooting one of these big guys."

“If you were tackled by this thing once, you wouldn’t think that way.” Winters thought for a moment and asked, “How about we take the bear head away? Mayor Mitchell is having trouble figuring out what to do with it.”

Andrei scoffed, "Since I didn't do it, what's the point of me having this thing?"

"By the way, I broke the gun you lent me. Can I pay you back? Can you settle the accounts with me?"

"How did it get broken?" Andrei's focus was clearly not on the money.

Winters replied calmly, "It exploded."

"The barrel exploded?" Andrei exclaimed in surprise, carefully examining Winters to make sure his old classmate wasn't missing any parts. "You're incredibly lucky! Was it worth risking your life for those sheep herders? They've never considered us one of their own!"

Winters sighed, speechless.

Seeing his old classmate's negative reaction, Andrei said angrily, "I'm serious! You have to value your life, you know? I don't want to have to go to this godforsaken place to sweep your grave in the future. We brothers have to go back to Hailan together, no one can be missing." "Okay, okay."

Andrei was also helpless. Then he suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead: "Oh right, Bard sent me a message."

"What did he say?" Winters perked up upon hearing Bard's message.

"I'll have you come to my place on the first Sunday of next month. He'll be coming too. The three of us will set off from Blackwater Town and go with him to meet a senior student."

Which senior?

"He didn't explain clearly, and I don't know either. It was just a verbal message. Anyway, just go with him. It's always good to see someone you know."

"Okay, I remember."

Without staying overnight, Andrei returned directly to Blackwater Town after confirming that his old classmate was alright, taking with him the muskets he had lent to Winters.

After Andrei left Mitchell's house, the hunter and his son were also about to leave.

Now that the beast has been killed, Ralph can take his son back to their cabin in the woods.

Ralph's son Bell, the young horseman Anglou, and Girard's son Pierre, these three boys, all around fifteen or sixteen years old, have become good friends over the years.

Bell was leaving Dusa Village, and the other two boys were very reluctant to see him go.

When the old hunter brought his son to say goodbye, Winters was writing documents at the town hall. He beckoned the young hunter to his side.

The little hunter walked to the desk with a puzzled look in his eyes. Winters opened the drawer, took out something wrapped in black cloth, and handed it to the little hunter.

It was a dagger, modeled after Sophia's dagger, which Winters had ordered from the blacksmith Misha.

The little hunter's eyes widened in surprise.

“I’ve cancelled the archery competition this weekend, but I figured you’d win anyway, so I’ll give you the prize in advance,” Winters said with a smile.

The little hunter looked at his father with pleading eyes.

“Since it’s from the lieutenant, you should accept it.” The old hunter nodded to his son, then looked respectfully at Winters: “Thank you, sir.”

The little hunter cheered and ran out of the town hall to find something to test his knife on.

"Why are you in such a hurry to go back?" Winters asked the old hunter as he watched the young hunter run off into the distance. "I just feel uneasy."

“I feel the same way, sir,” the old hunter said slowly. “That’s why I must get back as soon as possible.”

"Okay, come find me anytime if anything happens."

The old hunter bowed, turned and left the town hall.

It seems that everything is truly over.

……

With the ferocious bear vanquished, the farmers no longer slept in fear at night, the hunter father and son returned to their cabin in the woods, and rural life returned to normal. The turmoil caused by the wild animal plague seemed to have truly ended.

The last remaining question is how to provide compensation to the dead and the injured.

On the afternoon of the fifth day after the giant bear was killed, Mayor Mitchell, the resident official of Montagne, and Father Carmen held a serious meeting at the town hall to discuss how to compensate the dead and wounded.

Despite his wariness, Winters had to acknowledge the immense influence the clergy held among the villagers. The farmers always feared hell more than the gallows; and all worldly temptations paled in comparison to salvation.

Religion has permeated almost every aspect of this society, and the vast majority of spellcasters are powerless to change this reality.

The old mendicant monk once told Winters: "A magistrate, a military officer, and a priest—these three figures hold all the power in the small town of Wolftown. They can control everything from taxes to corvée labor, from the ground up to the grave."

If the mayor, the resident official, and the church priests work together to do something in Wolftown, then they will definitely succeed.

So although he was very unhappy that charlatans were interfering in official business, Winters eventually reluctantly agreed in order to ensure that nothing went wrong.

After discussing with Mayor Mitchell and Father Kaman, the three agreed not only to provide a one-time compensation to the militia members who died or were left disabled, but also to provide them with long-term assistance.

Winters knew he wouldn't stay long, so he had to rely on the mayor and the church to keep this form of compensation going.

To make it easier for farmers to understand, he used the terminology most easily grasped by them: for families who lose their ability to work due to bear hunting, the land will be cultivated by the entire village, similar to the land previously owned by nobles, until the family's children reach adulthood.

In simple terms, this system sacrifices the land owned by militia members. When cultivating the land, they are given priority to use communal plows, and when harvesting, other villagers are given priority to harvest the crops. In addition, each farmer has to go to those fields to work for a few days every year.

Farmers are very familiar with these things, and in fact, the "common land" in each village still operates in this way today.

This system obviously has many flaws and loopholes, but since the nobles have been able to maintain it well for hundreds of years, Winters thinks that it won't be a problem for Gilard and Carmen to maintain it for another ten years or so.

"I'll leave this matter to you two from now on." After finalizing the compensation plan for the casualties, Winters stood up and sincerely bowed to Mayor Mitchell and Father Kaman.

Father Kaman smiled and nodded.

Girard found it a bit strange, but he comforted the lieutenant, saying, "Don't worry, the bear-hunting militia died for everyone, and the villagers will take good care of their families."

Winters was about to say something when a barrage of knocking interrupted him.

Little hunter Bell was frantically banging on the town hall gate. He ran all the way to the town hall, looking as if he had been pulled out of the water.

"Help!"

The transitional chapter felt a bit off to me.

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(End of this chapter)