Chapter 1242: Wandless Spellcasting (2)

Chapter 1242: Chapter 400: Wandless Spellcasting (2)

In the camp, more centaurs were active, mingling with some… humans?

“Thank goodness it’s not a bizarre world where dinosaurs have replaced humans and Fantastic Beasts have taken over,” Ian’s spirits lifted as he cautiously approached the camp.

He found a shrub where he could observe the interior of the camp while staying hidden.

In the open space at the center of the camp, a group of humans was trading with someone who looked like an elder centaur. These people wore brightly colored robes with unique ethnic patterns, their skin dark, clearly indigenous to some region of Africa. Yet, they emitted faint magic power fluctuations.

These fluctuations unmistakably indicated their identity as wizards! Several centaurs were piling the pelts of hunted animals and some magic-glowing minerals and herbs aside. Meanwhile, those African wizards took out long objects wrapped in oilcloths from a large box they had brought—not gold coins or magic items, but bundles and bundles of elongated shapes.

“Damn! I knew something was off with these centaurs!” Ian squinted his eyes and watched as those African wizards expertly opened the oilcloths, revealing well-maintained and shiny AK-47 assault rifles! They even brought out several heavy wooden boxes, filled with shining yellow bullets when opened!

Ian hid behind a huge rock at the edge of the camp, overwhelmed with shock.

The centaurs emitted low grunts of excitement, picking up those rifles and examining them as if they were legendary weapons. Clearly, this wasn’t the first time they had conducted such a deal.

The process was very skillful.

“The wizards… are selling guns to centaurs?! This completely overturns the ecosystem of magic creatures!” Ian’s mouth twitched slightly.

He finally understood where those AKs came from.

Just then, a gust of wind blew, carrying fragmented dialogue from the center of the camp. The group of wizards was using a language mixed with local dialects and broken English.

Although Ian hadn’t studied African languages, he could barely understand some keywords, after all, he was a master of language, and many languages on Earth share commonalities.

Even from the same origin.

“…Next time…bring more…bullets…” A centaur elder said in clumsy English, gesturing with his hands.

“No problem…same price…trade…with shiny stones…” The apparent leader of the African wizards answered with a smile, patting the ammunition box beside him.

“…Those…bad things…in the jungle…are increasing…need…bigger…boom boom…” Another centaur interjected, forcefully patting the AK’s body.

“Don’t worry…good stuff…Kalashnikov…reliable…” The African wizard raised a thumb, “better than your…long spears…”

Ian listened to this absurd dialogue, observing this magic realism scene, suddenly feeling a sense of absurd relief. His gaze locked on the African wizard who seemed to be the leader. While everyone’s attention was focused on the weapon trade, he concentrated and silently initiated another Legilimency.

Magic, like invisible threads, quietly probed into the wizard’s consciousness.

Ian cautiously projected his will into the mind of that wizard.

Due to the distance and need for secrecy, he couldn’t conduct an in-depth reading, only capturing the most surface-level, active memory fragments and thought activities.

The scene began on a vast grassland—Africa, the edge of the Congo Basin.

The scorching sun, dense rainforest, scattered tribes. Wizards have lived here for generations, inheriting ancient spells and rituals. They coexist with nature and live alongside magic creatures.

But in recent decades, the world has changed.

External forces invaded—colonizers, warlords, multinational corporations. They destroyed tribes with guns and money, plundering resources. Magic creatures were hunted, holy lands desecrated. Traditional magic seemed fragile in the face of modern weapons.

Just as the tribes were on the brink of extinction, a Great Wizard realized a “forbidden way”: magic and technology need not be opposed.

He began researching how to integrate witchcraft into modern weaponry. He used spells to enhance the lethality of bullets, used runes to protect firearms from damage, and even used soul magic to create “cursed ammunition”—those hit would continue bleeding until death.

And centaurs, as guardians of the forest, possessed formidable physical strength and combat instincts. They were willing to ally with wizards to jointly resist external enemies.

Thus, the trade began.

Wizards provided centaurs with “supernatural enhancement”: using the “Power Potion” to strengthen their muscles, using the “Eagle Eye Curse” to enhance vision, using the “Silence Talisman” to make them move silently. Of course, those precious alchemy and magic potion materials were also part of the trade.

But the centaurs seemed to have other issues to deal with, not just external factors. The rainforest over there had been unsettling recently; it’s said some old tribes have awakened things better left unawakened.

The African wizard doesn’t quite understand the truth, nor does he care, so Ian couldn’t see the specific situation, only understanding from the African wizard why AK-47s were the standard for centaurs.

For the same reasons as Muggles, the AK-47, with its simple structure, durability, and easy maintenance, became the weapon of choice. Wizards purchased from the black market or warlords, or used magic to “summon” from abandoned battlefields, then traded them to centaurs, the profits of which were so large they made Mexican warlords drool.