Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 13: Traces of the Fel Orc Tribe
Early in the morning, the old hunter Pierce came to the foot of the dense forest of Jackdaw Ridge as usual.

Today is his last hunt before winter.

There was still time to harvest a batch of prime winter animal furs before moving to Grizzlie Castle for the winter.

He didn't want to go too deep into the mountains, lest he delay his return or encounter a black bear that hadn't hibernated yet.

Pierce first checked the traps and snares he had set a week ago based on the marks he had left.

Fortunately, a gray wolf, which was obviously still in its prime, fell into the trap and was not intercepted by other predators.

After deftly peeling off the smooth and thick wolf skin, Pierce whistled happily as he cut off a wolf leg, and his lunch was finally secured.

The hounds barked loudly not far away, alerting the old hunter to the discovery of new traces of wild animals.

"Wolf den?" Pierce found that the hound was standing at the entrance of the cave and barking, but did not go in.

This indicates that there is a female wolf in the den.

Pierce quietly touched the side of the nest, took out a flint, lit a bunch of hay, and threw it in.

He held a dagger in his mouth, pinned down the agitated hound, and hid aside, holding the hunting bow in both hands, waiting.

After waiting for a long time, the thick smoke from the burnt hay had dissipated, but the mother wolf still did not emerge from the den.

Pierce frowned slightly, slowly walked to the wolf den and looked inside.

A skinny female wolf with dull fur was staring at the hunter with a pair of fluorescent green eyes and growling threateningly.

Under the mother wolf's belly, several fat wolf cubs were burrowing around, as if trying to avoid the smoke under their mother's thick hair.

Pierce was stunned for a moment, then slowly backed out of the wolf's den.

"Old buddy, let's go." The hunter grabbed the hound that refused to give up and moved away from the hunting area.

……

In the valley, there were more than a dozen clumsily skinned wolf corpses lying in all directions, and the scene was extremely bloody.

As soon as Pierce saw this scene, he instinctively felt that something was wrong.

Unlike the hunter friends he was familiar with, the hunting team of the noble lords had arrived at Grizzly Castle long ago.

Who else in this forest has the ability to hunt down an entire pack of wolves?

The hound sniffed the wind with its nose raised, making low, anxious whine sounds.

In fact, there was no need for the hound to remind him. The faint fishy odor in the air, which was obviously not from the wolf corpse, had been noticed by Pierce long ago.

swoosh~
A rough bone spear came through the air, pierced the hound through and nailed it to the ground.

Pierce didn't care about the heartache, and subconsciously rolled over and hid behind a thick tree.

The hound was still breathing, kicking its legs and howling a few times.

The fishy smell became stronger.

The hunter behind the tree leaned forward slightly to observe, and his pupils shrank instantly.

Two humanoid creatures wearing filthy and broken bone armor, with tall and strong bodies, but their heads were twisted and swollen like beasts.

He slowly walked out of the bushes, squatted in front of the hound, took out a flint dagger, and stabbed it hard into the hound's neck.

Puff! Pierce closed his eyes reluctantly, a deep fear rising in his heart.

It's the evil orcs! The evil orcs are coming!

A breeze blew through the woods, causing the leaves to rustle.

The standing evil beastman seemed to have sensed something, and he twitched his nose slightly, looking around vigilantly.

Not good! Pierce realized the problem and looked down at the fresh wolf leg hanging on his waist.

With a thud, a bone spear pierced into the tree where the hunter was hiding with such force that it almost penetrated the trunk.

Without any hesitation, Pierce jumped up and ran into the depths of the woods without looking back.

There are still patrols in the town that have not left yet.

As long as, as long as you can escape to the vicinity of the town, there will be a glimmer of hope of survival.

He also had to pass on the news that the evil orcs had entered Jackdaw Ridge in advance to the spellcasters and noble lords in the town.

Otherwise, many civilians who didn't have time to evacuate would have died. As he ran, Pierce felt a shock in his waist, followed by a burning pain that spread from there to his chest.

He subconsciously looked towards the source of the pain and found a deep wound on his waist, with blood rapidly oozing out through the torn clothes.

The heavy breathing of a wild beast came from behind, getting closer and closer.

The hunter took off the fur on his shoulders, gritted his teeth, and ran for his life towards the familiar river at the foot of the mountain at an even faster speed.

……

Harvey's Laboratory Estate.

Reiner sat on a special metal bench, holding up the literacy booklet that Harvey had compiled for him and reciting it word by word.

Since his transformation into an alchemical life, his memory has far improved far beyond when he was still a human.

By just reading a book over and over again and memorizing it, he could recite it by heart, which made Harvey envious.

"Sir, after I learn these characters, can I also communicate and learn with the masters in your forum?"

Harvey laughed and shook his head, "That's not enough. You still have to start from the most basic theory of necromancy."

Reiner sighed with longing, "I never thought that I would have the opportunity to become a master wizard."

He removed the charging tube connected to his waist, his tone slightly regretful.

"My Lord, if I had known that transforming into an alchemical life form would allow me to learn magic, I would have given up being a human long ago."

"Hahaha, that's not necessary..."

The magic trap alarm in the laboratory suddenly buzzed and issued a warning.

Before Harvey could react, he saw Reiner stand up from the bench and deftly pull out the charging pipe.

"There's an intruder, sir."

Reiner spoke in a serious tone, raised his arm and shook it, lighting the welding torch with a hiss, and walked towards the manor gate with big strides.

Harvey quickly followed.

He arranged the four successfully transformed gray wolf alchemy beasts to lurk in the orchard outside the manor, ready to attack invaders at any time.

As soon as I followed Reiner to the edge of the orchard, I heard a scream coming from inside.

Oh no, could it be a farmer or townsperson who accidentally broke in?

Harvey didn't want to get into another lawsuit with the Federation censors and be accused of attacking civilians without reason.

"Sir! I know him, he is the old hunter Pierce in town!" Reiner rushed into the orchard first.

When Harvey arrived, he saw the hunter lying in a pool of blood, wet all over, with a long wound on his waist.

There was also a penetrating wound on the calf, which seemed to have been caused by the alchemy beast's sharp metal feet.

An alchemy beast curled up its eight metal insect legs and lay timidly on the side, as if it had just been taught a lesson by Reiner.

The hunter's face was filled with horror, his whole body shaking with pain, but he endured the severe pain and refused to groan.

Harvey walked over to Pierce, squatted down, and asked seriously, "Why did you trespass into the manor of a spellcaster?"

"Didn't you see the sign I put up outside the orchard that says No Trespassing Without Permission?"

Pierce held his injured calf and gritted his teeth, "Sir, I, I can't read!"

After he finished speaking, his eyes rolled back in pain and he fainted.

……

Reiner carried Hunter Pierce back to the manor, placed him on a recliner in the laboratory, and took out a bottle of healing potion prepared by Fluorescent Fern and fed it to him.

Under Harvey's guidance, he took some thin silk thread boiled in boiling water and used his deft fingers to sew up the wounds on his waist and legs.

After a long while, Pierce finally woke up.

"Tell me about the break-in to the spellcaster's manor." Harvey said with a straight face, continuing the inquiry that had not been answered just now.

The hunter was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and said hurriedly, "Sir! Please inform the Federation and the Lord as soon as possible."

"I, I encountered evil orcs at the foot of the mountain!"

(End of this chapter)