Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 415: Section 277: Search (Part 1)

Chapter 415: Section 277: Search (Part 1)

Although Malin didn’t have high hopes for the middle-grade children, they still caused significant trouble for their opponents, just as the member of the Kuameier family, Aemet Seilk, had said. At the beginning, the vanguard’s forward charge was impressive—twelve Tech Hunter Apprentices broke through in just six seconds, something the three opposite Paladin Apprentices didn’t expect at all in such a desperate play, three for four. Then the remaining eight kids rushed into the back ranks of the Church of Justice, and one of the two male Blessers from the Church took six rubber bullets in a focused fire and hit the ground on the spot.

The girl managed to dodge the melee chase by using the shield cover of her team’s Demonslayer, but because she lost the protection of the Demonslayer, she got hit in the head by a rubber bullet from the only Archer on the opposite side and passed out on the spot.

The Demonslayer panicked. One had to signal to the outside that they called for the holy dwellings—when a Demonslayer calls for this, they are judged as dying in battle and are dragged away. Then, on paper, the holy dwellings recognized the children of the Harvest Church as attackers of the Church of Justice members and deemed them enemies; naturally, there would be lethal damage.

As a result, the teachers from both sides had to discuss it, then unanimously agreed that the six remaining front-rankers from the Harvest Church were killed in battle on the spot—the holy dwellings would inflict double damage on the Evil Faction, and if that Spell Formation was truly activated, seven would likely die on the spot.

Then the back rank of the Harvest Church fought until the last moment. When the last Archer was felled, they indicated they carried explosive fishing gear. Then the teachers from both sides searched them and found thirty models; after calculating the lethal effect, the Church of Justice’s front rank was also wiped out.

When the Apprentices from both sides left the field, they were no longer laughing and joking like the younger grades. Malin stood on the side, standing on a box formed by Fio and Lorrin, patting each child on the head.

Although they lost, Malin took their spirit to heart.

"No worries. When we get back, I’ll give you guys three extra training sessions every week."

The kids all cried their eyes out.

"You really are a devil," Aemet Seilk shook his head, expressing his amazement at Malin’s statement, and looked at the kids with a look of pity.

"Only by getting stronger can we protect each other; otherwise, relying solely on good intentions, who could we really save?" Malin snorted, then stepped down from the platform. Fio and Lorrin morphed into the form of Bippo and crawled into Malin’s hood, with the three little creatures all clamoring onto Malin’s shoulders and head.

"By the way, your World Tree Sapling looks different from the ones I’ve seen in the documents. It is personified too much.", Aemet Seilk, the instructor, remarked with some curiosity.

"Don’t be curious, let’s just wait for the senior-grade battle. I hope they can give us a little surprise." Having said that, Malin moved aside, turning to look at Jessica approaching. She hadn’t been able to participate in the recent battle and seemed preoccupied.

Now, she came over and hugged Malin, her face full of sorrow, and choked up in Malin’s ear, "My little brother is dead."

Malin was stunned for a moment: "The timid one?" then immediately wanted to slap himself. What kind of way was that to talk about his brother-in-law, especially since the boy had already met his demise.

The Werewolf girl didn’t say anything but bit Malin’s ear hard enough to draw blood, yet Malin didn’t get angry, just patted her on the back, "Come on, let’s talk in the back."

Malin excused himself to Aemet Seilk, then took the Werewolf girl into a corridor, "What happened? This kid didn’t seem like someone who makes trouble; how did he end up dead?"

"I don’t know, the news came from Carterburg. He went on an adventure in the Northern Forest with several other Apprentices, and only one kid came back, out of his mind... They found some remains at the scene, including my brother’s left forearm torn off, probably by an Ogre, those damned Chaotic Believers."

"Ogres believe in Chaos?"

"Yes, they believe in Chaos."

With this answer, Malin thought for a bit and finally decided to take the girl back to Carterburg again.

Considering they would go into the forest to find people and not knowing how many days it would take, Maya was out of the question, and Lillim had her own competitions. As for Matilda... the one prone to fainting was better left out; she was still a bit dazed to this day.

Faye was also not suitable; her health wasn’t great, and she couldn’t withstand the rigors of wild adventures, let alone the question of whether her mother and father would consent.

Clovis might be available, but the Mage Tower wasn’t letting her go; recently, she was the darling of the Mage Tower, with her alchemy and engineering classes going from morning to night.

So that left Jessica.

So Malin talked to Faye about the plan, but he didn’t expect Faye to insist on coming along. Malin wanted to refuse, but he couldn’t withstand her plea, "I don’t want to be apart from you."

In the end, Malin consulted Lady Anna, hoping she would stop her daughter, but to his surprise, she supported it.

Therefore, Malin spent the money and took the two girls back to Carterburg.

Jessica’s younger brother met with trouble yesterday, and if he is still alive, his vital signs must be very poor by now. It was said that Carterburg experienced rain last night, and the rainclouds had drifted over from the North.

Even Jessica’s elderly father did not agree with Malin and the others heading North for the investigation, but in the end, Malin managed to bypass the old man— the old man was lame, so what he said didn’t count.

The clothes previously purchased for Faye and Jessica came in handy for this mission. Malin even hastily made three camouflage suits with an additional layer of rainproof material, considering the frequent rain and snow mixing in the northern region of Carterburg. The camouflage suits were in a blend of white, brown, and black, making them suitable for the forest landscape after snowfall.

The shoes were high-top boots, fitted with soft cork cleats, making them less likely to slip.

For weaponry, Jessica took up the pulley crossbow—a device Malin had provided for the Church’s Punishers, which earned rave reviews from those who used it— single-hand crossbows that used a silent steel wire for sound suppression and a hand-crank for easy reloading, lightweight and convenient, ensuring not to disturb others.

Jessica wielded a two-handed version, with greater draw weight and longer range. The first seventy yards had virtually no drop, and with a 2x scope, Jessica was able to hit a hundred-yard target at the firing range on her first try, even scoring within the eighth ring.

Faye chose a staff—not an ordinary one, of course, but one transformed by Melo. Malin’s idea was for Melo to protect Faye. When fighting at a distance, Faye could cast spells, and the .45 caliber revolver at her waist was actually for Melo’s use.

If enemies approached, it would be time for Melo to transform into a self-propelled firing platform.

Malin chose for himself a bow—also a pulley bow, fully metallic. The Punishers, known for their strength, often remarked that wielding it gave them a sensation of returning to a previous century and enticed a mysterious force that made them want to tie a red band around their heads.

Malin scoffed at this—What’s wrong with you? I don’t feel that when I use it.

After slinging the quiver on his back and attaching the revolver to his waist, Malin and the two girls set off with three large Charlotte War Dogs—these dogs were borrowed from the Church of Justice, large Northern war dogs known for their initial aggressiveness, but after Malin cast a few Blessing Spells on them, they became much more temperate.

Taking the dogs had two purposes; one was to utilise their sense of smell to detect scents, and the second was for riding—correct, the large Charlotte War Dogs, standing one and a half meters tall and totaling over four meters from head to tail, could be saddled, making them mountable like cavalry.

After all, these creatures were previously mounts for Goblins and were a similar breed to the Andalusian horses in human perception.

"According to the records, if we follow this road northward for about three hours, we will reach our destination. Once we dismount the War Dogs, we’ll have to delve about four kilometers into the woods to discover the scene of battle,"

Faye, looking at her notebook, said, "Jessica, your brother joined the Apprentices in their venture, and from this diary, it seems they needed an extra hand to carry bags, so he went along. Earning those fifty gold coins is truly tough." She then turned to look at Jessica, "Speaking of which, you’re part of the profit-sharing group, didn’t you give your brother any spending money?"

"I did, but I always gave him five at a time, since the money I’m earning now is for the future children that Mr. Malin and I will have. I only give a small portion to my brother because I want him to understand that one day his sister will marry and won’t always be there for him. As a man, he needs to learn to earn and provide for a family." Although Jessica spoke with a wistful expression, her words were to Malin’s liking.

"I’ve studied the map of that area, and I believe if your brother hasn’t died but ran away, he must have headed towards the small river to the west, as crossing it would dilute his scent, despite the risk of hypothermia. But at least it would offer him a chance to live in the present," Malin said.

"I think so too," Jessica agreed, as she rode her War Dog next to Malin, "My brother often worked in teams in the Northern Forest to earn some hard-earned money; he’s very familiar with this region, so I believe that if he didn’t die on the spot, he would have had the chance to escape."

"That’s why I’m willing to come with you to take a look. I think your brother may be a bit timid, but that also means he’s not foolish. His hand might have been torn off, but Old Ferrero mentioned that there were no werewolf remains at the scene, so he might indeed have escaped."

"Then we better find him quickly, or this damned weather will surely kill him." After Faye finished speaking, she glanced at the gray sky and the falling light snow, "It’s strange, why the Northern battlefront would affect us here."

"Who else but us, located in the southernmost corner of the Northern province near the ocean," Malin said with a sigh and spurred his War Dog to the side, letting a passing carriage through, "Where are you from?" he asked the people on the carriage— noting the arrows and axes embedded in it.

"From the North! Be careful! We encountered Goblins on the way here!" the Knight driving the carriage answered.

"Thank you!" said Malin, pulling the reins, and the War Dog caught up with Faye and Jessica, "There are Goblins ahead, can they understand human speech?"

"They don’t, but when faced with the threat of swords and axes, Goblins will suddenly remember the few words of human speech they know," Jessica replied.

"That’s good to hear," Malin whistled, and Fio popped out from one of the saddlebags beside the War Dog, wearing Blood Roar. Fio scanned the surroundings and then slipped back into the bag.

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