Claude snuck up the hill with his gun in hand. The wild boars were truly bold and didn't seem to mind being approached.
A few of the larger boars seemed to have caught a whiff of something and raised their heads in Claude's direction. They grunted a few times before lowering their heads to search for food in the field.
Claude stopped about a hundred meters away from the boars. He had heard from Welikro about the habits of the boars. Don't get too close to them when they're looking for food. If you get too close, the boars might think you're a threat and attack you.
A distance of a hundred meters was just right. Even if the boars noticed you, they wouldn't bother with you due to the distance.
Claude raised his gun and took aim. His target wasn't the largest boar, but one of the smaller ones. At that distance, he would be able to kill it with a single shot.
If it was the larger boar, he might not be able to kill it with a single shot due to its thick hide.
In the courtyard behind the manor, Maria and Ludian stood in front of the potion lab. They watched as Claude took aim at the boars with his gun while hiding behind the bushes.
"Madam, can he do it?
He's just a youth, "Ludian said worriedly," I think we should hire a few hunters from town to chase these boars away.
I heard from a guard who used to be a hunter that we have to prepare an escape route before dealing with a boar. It's best to find a big tree to lean on so that even if the boars are angered, they can still climb up the tree to hide. Wild boars that go berserk are the most ferocious and won't stop until they're dead.
Look at him, he doesn't have any experience at all. He's just standing behind the bushes and taking aim.
If he doesn't kill the boars and angers them instead, he won't be able to escape even if he wants to. Boars don't care if there's a bush in front of them. If they charge at him, he'll be done for. "
"Trust him this once," Maria stopped Ludian with a wave of her hand.
"Even though he's just a youth, I believe that since he was able to kill that niros crocodile, dealing with these boars should be a piece of cake.
Besides, you already know that this young man is a rogue Mage. He should have his own ways to ensure his safety, so we don't have to worry about him … "
The shot rang out and Maria and Ludian saw a cloud of white smoke rise from Claude's gun. One of the young boars bounced up from the herd and fell headfirst to the ground.
A one-shot kill!
Pleased with his marksmanship, he whistled and took out a paper tube filled with gunpowder. He bit into the paper tube and poured the gunpowder into the barrel. Then, he rammed it down with a steel rod and poured a lead bullet into it before ramming it down with another steel rod.
He flipped the gun around and bit into the paper tube again. He poured the powdered gunpowder into the powder box, checked the match, and clamped it tightly. Finally, he could fire again …
Just as Claude was reloading his gun, the two largest boars in the herd were enraged and charged at him.
A hundred meters wasn't too long, but it wasn't too short either. By the time he raised his gun again, the two boars were already right in front of him. They were less than ten meters away from him.
Claude could only fire one more shot, but there were two of them. Even if he managed to kill one of them, the other one would crash into him.
Claude hadn't practiced Iron Mantle, so he wouldn't be able to withstand the charge of the boars at all.
"It's over … there's nothing we can do to save him …" Ludian lamented from the yard below. He wanted to cover his eyes, unwilling to watch the tragedy unfold.
Even if Claude managed to kill one of them, he wouldn't be able to escape the vengeance of the other one.
Maria didn't say a word. She stared intently at Claude and clenched her fists tightly. She couldn't help but feel nervous at the impending danger.
Claude didn't really care about the charge of the two boars. All he needed was two thuds and the two boars would turn into idiots. They wouldn't even know why they were there. They might even sniff Claude's pants in a friendly manner.
Claude could have just pointed the muzzle at the boar's head and fired, followed by a splat at the boar next to it or a Magic Missile at its head.
The problem was that Maria and Ludian were watching him kill the boars from the yard below. He told Maria that he only knew five alchemical spells, so how was he supposed to explain the fact that he was able to use two combat spells?
Honestly speaking, Claude had a good impression of Maria. She was straightforward and straightforward. Most importantly, she didn't try to deceive a rookie like him. She didn't covet the five basic spells either. Instead, she told him the true value of the five spells.
From her, Claude learned a lot about magic and the kingdom's management of magic. It could be said that he benefited greatly from the conversation.
One shouldn't have the heart to harm others, but one must always be wary of others.
Claude hid his two foundational combat spells from Maria out of a subconscious precaution.
No matter the situation, he had to keep a trump card for himself instead of telling Maria everything, no matter how sincere or passionate she was.
The two ferocious boars were less than five meters away from each other, yet Claude didn't move his gun at all.
All of a sudden, the two charging boars seemed to have been struck by two hammers. Their front legs gave way and their heads slammed into the ground, leaving two deep grooves in the ground as they dragged themselves in front of Claude.
Claude calmly pointed his gun at the head of the largest boar and pulled the trigger. With a loud bang, smoke billowed into the air. The boar's limbs twitched and it fell to the ground, struggling for its life.
The other boar was jolted awake by the gunshot. It got up from the ground and tried to run away.
Claude tossed his gun aside and stopped moving. The boar only managed to run two meters before its body seemed to be pressed down by something again. It flailed around on the spot and couldn't break free no matter how hard it tried. All it could do was cry out in panic.
Maria and Ludian, who were in the courtyard at the bottom of the hill, watched with their mouths agape as the gun Claude tossed to the ground rose up on its own and leaned against Claude's body. It was as if an invisible hand was reloading the gun and bringing it to Claude's side. The muzzle was aimed at the head of the boar that was pinned to the ground.
"Boom!" The wild boar also fell on the hillside, and not long after, it stopped moving.
The remaining ten or so wild boars in the distance were already frightened by the three gunshots. Once the two largest wild boars died, the rest of them ran away without a trace while groaning.
Claude wiped the sweat off his forehead and gestured for Maria and Ludian to call for men to carry the three boars away.
Maria lifted her skirt and ran up the hill excitedly. Ludian called out to her from behind, but she ignored him. He had no choice but to go to the front of the villa to get someone to take care of the three boars.
Maria gasped as she rushed to Claude's side and exclaimed excitedly, "How did you do it?
Claude, do you know how worried I was for you down there?
Those two boars were about to hit you … "
Claude wiped the sweat off his forehead again. "Madam, it's Magus' Hands. It's like how I stopped that startled horse of yours.
But this time, we were dealing with two boars and I almost couldn't hold them down. "
Claude had experimented with Magus' Hands when he was doing chores in his attic. For example, he found it hard to move a heavy desk by himself, but he could easily lift it up with one hand and sweep the dust in the corners with the other.
It was a pity that he didn't have a suitable measuring tool in his attic. However, Claude estimated that Magus' Hands could withstand at least ten times the force of his own body.
In other words, if Claude could lift an object weighing 100 kilograms, Magus' Hands could lift an object weighing 1,000 kilograms.
Even though he didn't know if his estimation was correct, it didn't stop him from using Magus' Hands to deal with the two charging boars.
Actually, Claude was quite relieved that he didn't expect the two boars to be so rash.
If it wasn't for the fact that the Mental Shock spell had the same effect as a stun stick, he wouldn't have been able to stop the two boars with Magus' Hands. That would've been a real tragedy.
Fortunately, he managed to use Magus' Hands to smash the boars' heads with his fists, causing them to fall to the ground, allowing Claude to take care of them with ease. Even so, he still felt a lingering fear when he thought about it. He didn't think too much about it back then, nor did he think about whether Magus' Hands was suitable for dealing with the two boars.
Perhaps he didn't even need to reload the gun. It would be more suitable to use Precise Control to turn the Magician's Hands into two spears. Then, he could aim the spears at the charging boars and have them crash into them. Didn't Maria mention that the Magician's Hands and Precise Control should be used together? How could he have forgotten that …
"These two boars are huge. This is the first time I've seen one up close," said Maria as she stepped on the boar carcass in front of Claude.
"It can't be, Madam. Have you never eaten boar meat before?"
"I've eaten boar meat before, but they're so smelly that I've never come in contact with them. I've only seen them from afar, just like when I was down there.
Claude, do you think the wild boar is sick?
Look at their skin. They look like scars. It's really ugly. "
Claude shook his head with a smile. "Madam, this isn't an illness. It's just that the skin of an adult wild boar is more or less the same. Wild boars like to rub their bodies against pine trees and rub pine resin on their bodies before rolling around in the mud. That way, their skin will become extremely tough after drying.
Just like what you're seeing now, most wild beasts won't be able to bite through it at all. Not even a flintlock can penetrate it.
I also killed a small wild boar. You can see that its skin is different from these two big wild boars. "
"Oh, so that's how it is. It's not written in the books."
Maria stepped on the boar carcass again. "This one should weigh around 150 kilograms. That one is slightly smaller, probably around 100 kilograms. You also killed a smaller one.
Claude, what are you going to do with these three boars? "
"This is Madam's wood. I'm only doing her a favor. These three boars naturally belong to her," Claude said.
Logically speaking, there was nothing wrong with that. It was just like how the butler went to town to hire a hunter to chase away the boars. The prey belonged to the owner of the wood, but the owner had to pay the hunter.
Claude, on the other hand, volunteered to help and didn't ask for any payment.
Maria waved her hand. "I don't need these boars. Didn't you say that we're hunting boars? Just take these three back."
"How can I do that?
I'll just take one back. "
Claude was rather worried. He didn't think that he would be able to hunt three boars. If he really brought them back, it would cause a sensation in the entire town. He didn't want to be in the limelight.
Ludian brought the coachman and a couple in their fifties over.
The Lady Maria said that the couple were the Sioris, the foresters who lived here, and that the fields on the hillside were cultivated by them. They were old enough to shoot rabbits and pheasants with bows and crossbows, but they were no match for the wild boars.