Chapter 23

Chapter 23: The Solution

They placed the woman they brought back in a small cabin outside the village.

The cabin was a few hundred meters away from the Amazon village itself, serving as a place for those returning late and as an outpost. Inside the cabin, there was clean water, bandages, and some food, but the rescued person was far from being able to eat solid food.

Dora laid the dying woman on the bed, wiping and examining her. She had no tongue or teeth, her expression unchanged by being rescued, as if prolonged suffering had already broken her spirit. Her body was in critical condition, and Dora, being a warrior, could only provide basic first aid for external wounds. The patient in front of her needed more care and medicine, but they couldn’t take her back yet.

Even the more emotional Dora wouldn’t rashly take such a risk.

The woman they brought back needed further examination; she could have something hidden on her, maybe even carrying an unknown disease targeted at them. Catherine reported the results of the investigation to the tribe instead of going directly to the queen. She first approached the tribe’s healer, passing on information through notes and asking for an examination of the injured woman.

"I just can’t understand these silly people who want to die together!" Victor teased, "Ah, soldiers, muscles in the brain."

"What do you suggest?" Tasha asked.

"Kill on the spot, at least don’t bring them back!" Victor said confidently, "Who would bring back something that could be a bait during wartime?"

Tasha didn’t express agreement with bringing back captives, but she also understood their choice. After just a few days of contact, she could already see the Amazonians’ unity, stubbornness, and strong sense of crisis for their rare tribe. If they would not help suffering kin for safety, they wouldn’t still be here, facing a huge enemy for the sake of a warrior spirit.

There are always things that some people cannot compromise on.

In a way, it was almost a plot. They had taken all possible precautions, and with the information available, there seemed to be no better way – that is, a way to both save captives and ensure safety, clearly not in the Amazonians’ considerations as mentioned by Victor. Tasha let the touch of the spirit penetrate through the wounded person in bed, slowly seeping through their flesh and bones, finding no foreign object.

Her examination results were the same as the Amazonians; the person carried no tools, devices, or runes, and the captive’s health was as bad as it looked, unable to even move, playing no tricks at all.

On one side, the spirit gazed at the patient, on the other side, it gazed far away at the human camp. The result of "no issues with the captive" didn’t ease Tasha’s mind. She had a bad feeling, as if her subconscious sensed a problem but couldn’t figure it out. What did she miss? Not enough information, the watchtower had not been built nearby yet, the spirit faced a setback in reconnaissance for the first time, and Tasha was not used to feeling out of control. She reminded herself inwardly that the omniscient view of the dungeon and the various meticulous surveillance methods might have made her too complacent. Her control desire was getting stronger, and the feeling of losing control would affect her calmness, which was a common reason for failures by the Great Devil.

Tasha found it hard to divert her thoughts from the unsearchable carriage, like ignoring a shadow looming close by.

The peaceful night was mostly thanks to two Amazonian setting fire before leaving, making the exhausted human army unable to cause trouble. The next day, soldiers began to dismantle the tents facing the forest, clearing a space and slowly rolling something out.

Red Setter stepped out from the crowd, its head shining with red light.

In a flash of inspiration, Tasha suddenly remembered something she had overlooked. The captive they brought back didn’t need to carry anything, and there was no need for humans to expect anything from her. She wasn’t a spy, a detonator, or an Amazon – she was a mixed-race with the Amazon Hunter Mark, acting as a locator for Red Setter to find the Amazon camp.

Wait…

The next moment of realization was followed by more puzzling questions. Did humans really want to find the camp location this way? Ignoring the fact that the captive wasn’t placed inside the camp, with Amazon warriors patrolling the forest edge, they had enough time to move the captive upon discovering the human’s goal. The mere purpose itself was hard to comprehend. Even if they found the camp’s location, the question reverted back to the beginning: how would this powerful yet cumbersome human army navigate through the forest and overcome the forest hunters who could escape at any moment in the Amazonian’s territory?

Tasha’s temples were pounding, as if she saw a massive alarm written in an incomprehensible language. The truth and danger were just a step away, and Tasha restlessly approached the camp, pushing against the strong force gazing ahead.

Red Setter moved swiftly, not needing to sniff around like a real hunting dog. This strange machine walked in a straight line, pointing directly towards the Amazon camp. Soon, there were trees untouched ahead, with the robotic dog heading towards a large tree for soldiers to chop down, while the Amazon in the forest drew their bows.

Humans tried to protect Red Setter, but they were not successful for long. An arrow pierced through a gap in the soldier’s defense, accurately hitting Red Setter’s head. The red light was pierced by the arrow, emitting dark smoke as Red Setter let out a mournful cry, never moving again.

The commander frowned, a look of casualness on a face marked by a great failure, seeming too at ease.

They moved the immobile Red Setter away and inserted a wooden stick in its place. Something was pushed out, and dozens of soldiers moved the rolling logs to push the huge object out.

The recent ambush successfully dealt with the Red Setter and forced the exposed Amazon warrior to retreat, unable to approach the newly arrived giant object. Tasha floated in mid-air, trying to observe the silvery-gray giant, surrounded by stars, from this distance, only seeing a distant outline.

When the human army arrived, they definitely did not bring this thing with them, and neither did the supply convoy afterwards. The thing was bigger than several carriages combined, and Tasha guessed it was assembled from parts of several vehicles. It looked strange, with a solid body and a long rod sticking out in front, resembling a mosquito from afar. Under the command, soldiers carefully adjusted the angle of the thing, pointing the long rod towards where the Red Setter had stopped earlier.

Only when compared to the people nearby did Tasha realize that the long rod was actually not thin; it was an illusion created by comparing it to its obese body. The long rod was thicker than a person’s torso, and its slow rotation suddenly reminded Tasha of a tank.

"Do you know it?" Tasha asked.

"I’ve never seen it before, it’s kind of in the style of dwarves, they like to make these strange things," Victor said.

"Are there any particularly powerful ranged weapons in the dwarves’ creations?" Tasha asked quickly as the crowd surrounded the iron monster in its adjusted position under her gaze.

"There are some interesting things, like self-running cars, giant mechanical clouds, but they are just interesting. They have created artificial compressed fireballs, almost as powerful as small fireball spells, but the cost of each attack can be used to hire a formal wizard," Victor casually said. "Didn’t you ask those Craftsman Dwarves? The orthodox dwarves and their creations have long disappeared. It seems like the Red Setter is the only thing that still bears their mark…"

Tasha didn’t listen further; she didn’t intend to figure this out. The ominous premonition was so strong that she couldn’t ignore it. She instructed the spirits in the Amazon village to appear before the queen and inform her to lead everyone to evacuate immediately.

The army started to retreat, moving back several meters, covering their ears and lying on the ground. Nearby, an Amazon warrior sensed something was wrong. An archer bravely rushed out and aimed arrows at the strange thing, pulling back the bowstring.

It was too late.

Tasha saw a bright light erupting from the long pole – from the cannon’s muzzle.

The first light of dawn in the dark night could never be as bright as this. The white light was too dazzling, making the sky look dim in comparison. Silver lightning tore through the dim sky, ripping apart everything in its path – the sky, the earth, and all obstacles in front. After the dazzling giant beast whizzed by, a deafening roar shook the onlookers.

When the light reached its peak, it became so terrifying.

Tasha’s eyes ignited at the sight of the light, her face and body expanding in the moment of illumination, then bursting. The ghostly body seemed to be made of white phosphorus, easily incinerated by the heat carried by the wind. What sunlight couldn’t do, this cannon did.

Yes, a cannon.

-[We Workers Have Power]: Knowledge is power. Even if you have no knowledge of forging, you have an eye for understanding basic craftsmanship. For example: when you see a sword that looks nothing like a sword, your first thought is, "This is a sword!"

This seemingly useless skill came into play when the cannon fired. Tasha saw a note appear in her mind, "This is a cannon."

The human army’s ghostly spirits watching the battle turned to ashes, as did the one in the Amazon camp. Neither was directly hit, but being so close to the gunfire had disastrous consequences. The consciousness without a vessel did not return to the dungeon, perhaps because the body disappeared too quickly and completely. Tasha’s consciousness was like a fallen leaf in a hurricane, involuntarily swept into the trajectory.

It was a very, very brief moment, but this second felt very long for Tasha in the gel-like time. She saw nothing before her, was it because the only thing left in this moment was scorching white light, or because her eyes had been burned out? She felt cracks in the pure white space, the sky torn apart, the earth torn apart, everything in the way turned to dust, ashes consumed before touching the ground. The vast forest was torn open like a rude chisel, splitting the protective umbrella in Amazonian.

The bizarrely shaped cannon destroyed half the forest, revealing the Amazon village beyond the remaining trees.

So that’s it. The human’s Red Setter only needed a rough direction.