Chapter 103 - 36: [Heaven-Given Talent]

Chapter 103: Chapter 36: [Heaven-Given Talent]

A withered, yellow autumn leaf fell with the wind onto the wooden window lattice on the third floor of the inn, only to be gently picked up by a rusted copper Hand Armor.

Samael stared absently out the window. In the slightly chilly autumn wind, the waves of wheat surged, rolling toward the edges of the fields wave after wave.

The farmers of the Empire stood behind their harvesting vehicles, shouting at the horses harnessed in the middle.

The harvesting vehicle looked like a massive wooden frame with horses harnessed in the center. Horizontal razor Wheels and power transmission gear shafts were affixed to the front and sides. To use it, one had to first open the wooden crossbar at the rear of the frame, lead the horses inside, secure the sturdy wooden beams and harness ropes, and then close the rear wooden crossbar.

As the vehicle’s wheels turned, the gear assembly transmitted and redirected the power along the bearings, converting a portion of it into power for the razor Wheels at the front and sides.

Samael toyed with the fallen leaf in his hand, looking down at the structure of the harvesting frame and its razor Wheels.

"I’ve seen you before in the United Library of Rondolan. To think you’re actually a princess!" Surprised words came from the girl with a gauze bandage on her cheek behind him. "I thought you were just a... nerd."

"I am... but I’m just... I’m not used to being stared at," Talia replied awkwardly.

"Please rest assured, we won’t tell Musa about you—you must be his targets." A young merchant wearing a leather hat approached Samael’s side. "The Rondolan we admired was destroyed by betrayal—we don’t want to see such a thing happen again."

"Yes, thank you," Samael replied. "Is that just for harvesting?" He pointed at the harvesting vehicle outside the window.

"It used to be a chariot of the Ederic Empire, designed for plain combat against lightly armored and unarmored infantry. It was also used to ram into dense cavalry formations, slicing horses’ legs during close-quarters collisions," the young merchant answered. "However, it was ineffective against the desert infantry of the Supar Empire. Because it had to be low to the ground to cut horses’ and human legs, its wheels and most of the frame often sank into the sand."

Samael turned his head and gave him a second look.

"What is it?" the merchant, a Demon Race Exile, asked. He looked to be in his twenties and wore a wide leather hat. He could be considered handsome, except that his eyes were narrowed into two thin slits, making him resemble some kind of tired, lazy reptile squinting in the sun.

"Why does everyone know so much?" Samael hesitated. "Am I the only one visiting the Empire for the first time?"

"No—I used to be an architect and foundry mechanic for a small Underground City in the border region of the Southern Holy Light Church Country. The developmental history of these war vehicles falls within my field of expertise," the squinting Demon Race Exile shrugged. "My former boss had barely started building it when he was killed by adventurers. The Underground City was only half-finished when they flooded in and stripped it bare. The other weak members of the Demon Race and I had nowhere to live, and other Underground Cities wouldn’t take me, so I joined Old Duke’s caravan of Exiles.

"I’m not good at fighting, and my Spiritual Energy talent is very average. Even though I have some specialized knowledge, it wouldn’t make the cut in those medium-to-large Demon Race Dungeons." He took off his hat and parted his hair, displaying the dark, sawed-off stumps of horns on both sides of his head.

"Oh! You’re a master!" Samael’s respect grew instantly. "How should I... address you?"

"Yaki. Yaki Yevir." The squinting Exile nodded. "I don’t deserve the title of master. I’m just a lowly Craftsman."

"Alright... Yaki Yevir, my friend." Samael reached out and placed a hand on Yaki’s shoulder. "We might need this thing to assist us in combat." He pointed at the harvesting vehicle outside the window.

"Of course, that is, if you’re willing," he added. "If you don’t want to get involved, that’s completely understandable. We won’t force you—"

"No, no, no, Mr. Samael. The only reason we haven’t made a move against Musa is simply that we can’t beat him," Yaki interrupted him. "He injured our respected Elder Che, Old Duke—injured the elderly patriarch of our family. If you are going to kill Musa and his subordinates, then please, you must allow us to help."

"It’s just that..." he hesitated.

"What’s wrong?" Samael asked.

"I don’t think it will be of much use," Yaki shook his head. "Our Demon Race possesses terrifying healing abilities. The edges of ordinary weapons aren’t very effective against the Demon Race unless you decapitate them, blow their bodies to pieces, or use unimaginably powerful force to directly tear their muscles, rip out their bones, pierce their abdominal cavities, and pull out their internal organs—this is why Demon Race Warriors prefer to wear Claw-shaped Hand Armors." He glanced at Talia’s Claw-shaped Hand Armor.

"Our long-distance freight wagons also have Crossbow Arrows on their roofs. When they attacked us outside the Empire’s borders, we tried to fight back, but it was very difficult to cause any effective damage to them," the girl with a gauze bandage on her cheek added. "Those five Demonized individuals consist of two Red Shell Beetle Guards, two Sand Dune Battle Scorpions, and one Buried Sand Winged Dragon.

"The Red Shell Beetle Guard is a low-agility, heavy armor unit. Ordinary weapons struggle to pierce its armor, and it is exceptionally resilient against blunt force trauma. The Sand Dune Battle Scorpion has a balance of medium agility and medium armor, mixing venomous stingers into its melee attacks. The Buried Sand Winged Dragon is an unarmored, high-agility unit. Once it takes to the sky, it becomes incredibly difficult to deal with."

"You are very familiar with the characteristics of different Magical Beasts?" Samael asked.

"Before I became an Exile, I used to be a Beast Shepherd and Garden Master in a weak Underground City." She pulled off the gauze on her cheek, revealing a dark red scar underneath where scales had been forcibly torn away.