Chapter 87: Chapter 87: Repeating Crossbow

While Landon was eating the most delicious breakfast of his life, outside the magic beast forest, the black panther beastman had been pacing restlessly at the edge for a long time.

After a long night, Landon’s scent had completely vanished. The black panther beastman was no longer sure if Landon had even entered the magic beast forest. Wesley had warned that there would be a light blizzard today, so he could not wander outside forever. The beastman stomped his feet a few times, then finally gave up and returned to the cave.

Seeing him return, Santiago stepped forward and asked: "Parker, did you find Landon?"

The black panther beastman, who was Parker, shook his head dejectedly and said: "I didn’t find him. Yesterday afternoon, there was still a faint scent, but after one night, it has been completely wiped clean."

Axel patted the small child in his arms, his eyes stinging slightly: "Being outside for a whole night, I am afraid the child’s chances are grim."

The group of adults lowered their heads in sorrow, leaning against the rock wall to look outside. The wind outside had started to pick up, and the sparsely fluttering snowflakes soon became thick and heavy. Santiago and Axel transformed into their beast forms, sitting close to the two Sub-Beasts to shield them from the wind.

The little Sub-Beast in Axel’s embrace hummed twice; comforted by his Papa, the child went back to sleep.

At the same time, at the periphery of the Crimson tribe, Quinlan, having flown back and forth all night, was dead tired and collapsed flat at Asher’s feet. Asher helped Quinlan untie the medicine bag strapped to the bird’s leg and placed it beside the fire.

Quinlan rested for a moment, drank some warm water, and then transformed into his human form. He picked up his porridge to eat, speaking between bites: "The Chief said they are allowed to stay on the prairie. Once they have recovered from their injuries, they can come to the tribe to work in exchange for food. As for that white lion beastman, an exception has been made to bring him into the tribe for treatment."

Hayman blinked: "Since when did the Chief become so merciful? In the past, he would have definitely forced that beastman to stay outside permanently. Look, the lice on that guy are almost as big as dog ticks."

Quinlan choked on his porridge, turning to glare at Hayman: "Could you not bring up such an unsanitary topic while I am eating?!"

After a night of eating their fill and taking medicine, the group of ten deformed people had improved somewhat. Leonardo had not yet woken up, but his breathing was slightly more stable. Upon hearing Hayman mention lice, the whole group subconsciously touched their heads, then looked over at Leonardo. Wasn’t having lice completely normal? Besides, they had been starving for a long time, so the lice clinging to their bodies were also malnourished; how could they possibly be as big as dog ticks?

Hayman chuckled foolishly: "Acting as if you didn’t use to wipe your butt and then reach your hand right in to grab meat and stuff it in your mouth before."

Quinlan bared his teeth: "Do you believe I will peck you to death? I am the cleanest bird in the tribe, mind you, not someone who slithers through feces and urine all day like you."

"You are the one who slithers through feces, your whole family slithers through feces!"

Asher had just finished feeding medicine to Leonardo; unable to endure it any longer, he threw the empty bowl in his hand over: "Both of you, shut your mouths, you two unhygienic fools!"

The two beastmen immediately fell silent, not daring to cough up another sound.

After everyone finished breakfast and rested for a while, Asher told Morrow to place Leonardo and the two children on the wooden cart, leading the group of deformed beastmen back to the prairie. Quinlan perched on Austin’s shoulder, explaining the tribe’s rules to them.

Jose sat on the cart, looking down curiously at the wooden wheels, and said to the young beastman: "Brother Dominic... How... how can this round wooden block spin? It, it rocks back and forth making me feel so uncomfortable."

Asher, walking beside them, hurriedly said: "You must be motion sick, don’t look at the wheels anymore, look straight ahead. If you feel nauseous, tell me, alright?"

Jose quickly turned his head to look forward, gripping the edge of the cart. The boy didn’t understand what a cart or motion sickness was, but he knew the feeling of nausea when moving. He had also gotten sick when sitting on his Daddy’s back; he had even vomited all over his Daddy’s beautiful white fur.

Remembering his Daddy, a faint sorrow welled up in Jose’s heart. His Daddy had died in the jaws of a magic beast; there would no longer be anyone to carry Jose on their back, jumping up and down every day.

"What’s wrong, are you uncomfortable?" Asher stroked Jose’s head, then reached out and picked the boy up. Hayman placed his bag down where Jose had just been sitting and took the child from Asher’s hands.

"Let me carry him, even though he is quite light, he will still make you tired."

Back at the tribe, Kaelen paced back and forth incessantly, then ran to the Chief’s work tent and said to Sane:

[I want to chase after Walter. They don’t know the situation over there, they will be in danger.]

Sane looked up and said: "I have already sent a new group to chase after them to deliver the news. They are all Snow Leopard clan and Eagle clan beastmen, their speed is very fast. Do not worry anymore."

Kaelen breathed a sigh of relief. He had forgotten that Sane was now the Chief; whatever he worried about, Sane had already anticipated, sparing Kaelen from having to fret over anything. He said again:

[The situation now is extremely dangerous; we have probably already fallen into the Temple’s sights. I want to accelerate the awakening speed of the tribesmen, and additionally, we must intensify training to the highest level.]

Sane nodded: "How many arrays can you create? Can you teach the group that awakened Divine Energy how to activate the arrays, so they can help you with the work?"

Kaelen shook his head: [I can create about ten arrays, but everyone’s Divine Energy levels are currently not high enough. Theron has only reached level 1, and the others have just entered the Beginner stage. Right now, I can activate a maximum of three arrays a day, with a maximum of six people per array.]

"Two arrays, a maximum of five people per array, no more." Sane stepped forward, holding Kaelen’s hand, and softly advised: "I know you are anxious for the tribe, but you are still pregnant, you cannot overexert yourself. Listen to me, alright?"

Kaelen sighed, resting his head on Sane’s shoulder. He had been too impatient, not considering that something might happen to the baby if he became exhausted.

[Sane, I am very scared.]

Sane kissed his forehead, saying: "I know, I am scared too. But the more scared we are, the more we need to try to calm down; only then can we come up with the most optimal plan."

Kaelen nodded: [Mhm. Has there been any progress with your Beast Energy level?]

Sane shook his head: "No changes. Same with Uncle Jaxon and Zale. However, the level one and level two warriors all reported that they are feeling the barrier loosening; they will break through soon."

"That’s right." Sane let go of Kaelen, spread a blueprint on the table, and said: "This automatic bow of yours is too difficult; Uncle Cassian has studied it for a long time but still yields no results. I have reviewed the blueprint; can this part be simplified?"

Kaelen leaned down to look where Sane’s finger was pointing. That position was precisely the trigger mechanism and the joint of the magazine.

In the initial design, Kaelen leaned towards complex mechanical crossbows, demanding extremely high precision in the locking pins. But he forgot that, with the tribe’s current stone and bone tools, requiring Uncle Cassian to carve down to the exact millimeter for a tiny trigger system was an impossible puzzle. No matter how sharp a beastman’s claws were, carving such a small detail still required a tremendous amount of effort.

Kaelen nodded, reaching out to grab a felt-tip pen.

[Alright, we will discard this complex trigger part. Just use entirely wood and bamboo to make it.] He circled the crossbow trigger area and crossed it out, then decisively drew a new structural sketch on the blank space beside it.

Sane attentively watched every stroke of Kaelen’s drawing, not missing a single detail.

[Instead of making an aiming trigger system, we will make a repeating crossbow, relying on a magazine that can slide back and forth on the crossbow’s body.] Kaelen drew while gesturing with his hands to explain: [This box will be attached to a lever using a bamboo mortise and tenon joint. When pushing the lever forward, the catch at the bottom of the box will hook onto the bowstring. When pulling the lever forcefully backward, the sliding box moves back to tension the bamboo limbs, while the bottom-most arrow will automatically drop through the gap into the firing groove.]

Sane tapped his fingers on the table, quickly grasping the core concept, his eyes flashing with sharpness: "Sliding backward to load an arrow... Then what next? The bowstring is hooked at the bottom of the box, how does it automatically release?"

Kaelen smiled, using the tip of his charcoal pencil to press firmly on a spot at the tail of the crossbow’s body.

[Right here, just tell Uncle Cassian to carve a small protruding wooden peg. When the magazine is pulled back to the very end, this stationary wooden peg will slip into the catch slot at the bottom of the box, directly pushing the bowstring out of the holding catch. The released bowstring will strike the tail of the arrow. Thwack! The arrow flies off.]

"Pulling the lever back automatically loads the arrow and fires..." Sane muttered, his hand caressing the edge of the blueprint as if touching a precious treasure: "The firing power might be weaker than a normal hunting bow due to the short draw length, but the speed is unmatched. Firing ten arrows continuously in just a short time, this thing... this thing is absolutely perfect for defending strongholds and suppressing large numbers!"

Kaelen nodded in agreement, writing a few more lines of annotation.

[Exactly. The arrows for this automatic crossbow don’t need tail feathers to avoid getting stuck in the box; just using sharpened bamboo or roasting it over a fire to harden it is enough. The firing power might not pierce through the thick hides of high-level magic beasts, but it is more than enough to deal with warrior beastmen or normal wild beasts.]

He put down the pen, looking up straight into Sane’s eyes, his gaze carrying determination: [Most importantly, the automatic crossbow using a lever does not require muscle strength. The elderly, children, or Sub-Beasts can all operate it easily. This will be the perfect self-defense weapon for those without Divine Energy.]

Sane took a deep breath, rolled up the sketch, and carefully stored it in a bamboo tube. He turned, reaching out to cradle the back of Kaelen’s neck, and planted a ’mwah’ kiss on Kaelen’s forehead.

"My mate is truly a treasure." Sane chuckled softly, his deep voice carrying undisguised excitement: "Now I’m going to find Uncle Cassian; do you want to come with me?"

Kaelen shook his head: [I want to go back and study the training methods again, to see if I can help you, Zale, and Uncle Jaxon break through.]

"Mhm, don’t overexert yourself. Our tribe is already very strong now. I won’t be back at noon, so I will have someone bring food to you, to prevent you from forgetting to eat again. Remember to take a nap after eating."

Kaelen pouted: [I know. You nag just like Uncle Nyx.]

"Isn’t it because you don’t know how to take care of yourself? Let’s go, I will escort you back first."

The two walked outside shoulder to shoulder; as they walked, Sane spoke softly to Kaelen about his schedule for this afternoon, sounding just like a subordinate reporting to a leader. Kaelen felt a bit amused, feeling that his beastman was most genuine this way. That cold, aloof demeanor distancing people thousands of miles away from the past truly made one’s heart ache.