Heart of a Warrior

Stone Spear's overheated body began to collapse beneath the wash of cold water. His once-indestructible earth elemental body had now become the fuse of his destruction.

He futilely tried to clamp down on those terrible cracks with his hands, but he could not stop them from spreading layer by layer. His statue-like body kept cracking and breaking apart.

Stone chips fell like rain. It was impossible to tell where they came from, because the Centaur's entire body was collapsing, crumbling into chunks of debris as though caught in a violent earthquake.

Seeing the Centaur before them rapidly disintegrate, Sian finally relaxed. The exhaustion that had built up over so long surged forth, making him feel as though he could barely remain standing.

Baine had just climbed down from the tower as well. The two exchanged a glance, both feeling an overwhelming sense of relief.

"Finally over..." Baine smiled honestly and lightly thumped his companion's chest with his fist.

"Yeah, we did it..." Sian replied with a tired smile.

But neither of them noticed that although the collapse continued and his demise was inevitable, the Centaur's life had not yet come to an end.

And these two little calves... had actually foolishly left their backs exposed to an enemy that was still breathing?

"You two idiots!"

A familiar angry scolding came from behind them, making the two young Tauren jolt.

The instant Sian heard that voice, the drowsiness in his mind vanished completely. Even the pallor caused by excessive blood loss seemed to gain a little life.

That voice stirred up far too many unpleasant memories. Most of them had taken place at the shooting range or out in the wild, and they were usually followed by verbal reprimands and physical exhaustion—a double torment of body and mind.

If that voice represented somewhat unhappy memories to little Sian, then what it brought little Baine was probably pure pain.

Because every time he heard that voice, it usually meant his backside was about to blossom.

That was right. It was Sian's master's voice, and also Baine's mother's.

At that moment, Tamara Bloodhoof drew an arrow from her quiver with an unhappy expression, nocked it, pulled back her bow, and shouted at her foolish disciple and foolish son:

"Get down!"

Sian and Baine hurriedly crouched down. A glowing arrow flew high overhead, piercing the eye socket of the Centaur behind them as he began to stir, triggering a small explosion.

Then, accompanied by a low roar, a massive figure charged over and slammed into the frozen Centaur statue with an enraged bellow.

With a tremendous crash, the entire Centaur shattered completely into debris. He was finally dead beyond doubt.

The violent scene made Sian's eyelid twitch, and he felt a lingering chill of fear. After all, Baine and he had just been completely defenseless.

Thinking of that, the two raised their hands in surrender together and spoke in unison:

"Master, I was wrong!"

"Mother, I was wrong!"

The valiant female hunter leaped down from the back of the Kodo Beast. Before she could properly lecture those two careless fellows, a figure rushed forward.

Bashana Runetotem stopped before Sian Whitehorn. Seeing him covered in wounds, the girl's eyes gradually reddened.

The young bull was in an especially miserable state. His face was full of exhaustion, weariness mixed with dizziness from excessive blood loss. Blood continued to run from his shoulder and thigh, his clothes were tattered, and his body was covered in wounds large and small.

Seeing how upset the girl was, little Sian forced himself to perk up and smiled sleepily. "Don't worry, it only looks serious. My body's tough. These little wounds are nothing..."

He snorted and tried to swing his arm around to prove to Bashana that he was not lying, but after several attempts, he failed.

Only then did he realize belatedly that he was so exhausted he could not even lift his arm. Seeing Xiao Na about to cry, little Sian panicked and awkwardly comforted her. "Don't... don't cry... Aren't I still alive and well...?"

He kept giving Baine meaningful looks, hoping his good brother would help him out. But Baine, who was usually so glib, seemed to have something wrong with his head and could not force out a single sentence after stammering for ages.

"Don't worry, he... he... um... he's... he's very brave..."

Even Baine himself thought that sounded foolish. Bashana silently glanced at him, then gently walked over to stand in front of Sian.

She carefully touched the wound on little Sian's shoulder and softly said, "I'm sorry..."

Sian was a little confused. He did not know why Xiao Na was suddenly apologizing, but his instincts told him it was best to stay silent.

So he slowly lowered his head, silently accepting the strange quiet.

Bashana looked at him quietly, as though gathering her thoughts, but in the end, it became a sigh.

"Get some proper rest. I'll heal you..."

Little Sian silently nodded, then obediently sat down and let Xiao Na summon Healing Water to mend his wounds.

Baine watched intently from the side, occasionally showing a knowing smile and sometimes giving a small nod.

Tamara smiled. There would be plenty of chances to criticize them later. For now, she only wanted to preserve this rare peace for the young calves. She prepared to lead the Kodo Beast beside her away, but the towering beast struggled lightly and refused to leave.

Little Sian, who was receiving treatment, happened to see this as well, and delight rose in his heart.

He clapped his hands, and the armored beast broke free of Tamara's reins and slowly walked toward him.

The Kodo Beast's mountain-like body was immensely imposing as he slowly approached, yet little Sian showed no fear at all.

When the great beast came close enough, Sian threw his arms around his enormous head and burst into happy laughter.

"You naughty little fellow, why did you follow me all the way here too?"

The Kodo Beast immediately let out a happy grunt. He rubbed his huge head back and forth against his master's embrace, then stretched out his wet, broad tongue to lick his master's face.

Little Sian could not dodge in time and got slobbered all over by the grassland beast. The Kodo Beast's saliva did not stink at all; it even carried the scent of fresh grass. Sian did not mind the mess, and man and beast laughed and played together happily.

Seeing this, Bashana and Baine wore expressions of complete familiarity before joining in the laughter.

After their playful commotion, the Kodo Beast finally settled down. Looking at the wounds on his master's body, a trace of worry appeared in his large eyes. He used his rough tongue to lick his master's cheek, then gently touched little Sian's forehead with the hard horn on his snout and gave a tender, low hum.

Sian knew that this was the Kodo Beast's way of showing affection. The comfort from his good companion made him especially happy.

He gently rubbed the Kodo Beast's nostrils and softly reassured him, "Don't worry about this, little Liman. These little wounds aren't serious enough for you to step in and protect me!"

Little Sian had personally given him that name. Though it sounded rather strange, both of them liked it very much.

Liman gently nudged his master's head, seemingly expressing his displeasure.

"Don't be mad..." Little Sian laughed loudly. "You're the best Kodo Beast in the world, Sian Whitehorn's very, very, very best companion. Shouldn't you trust him a little more?"

Liman's dissatisfaction only deepened. Sian rubbed his big head and happily said, "I know you'll never abandon me, so when I face real danger, you'll definitely come save me without hesitation like you did today, right?"

Hearing his master say that, Liman was finally satisfied. Still, he petty-mindedly took revenge on his young master, covering his freshly cleaned cheeks with wet saliva again.

While they laughed and played, the old hunter Aldo Thunderhorn finally caught up from behind. It was he who had used Eagle Eye to scout the battle here, allowing Tamara to arrive first.

To move faster, Aldo had left Liman with Tamara while he traveled on foot. Only because of Bashana's strong insistence did the Kodo Beast end up carrying one more not-very-heavy young Tauren Shaman.

Watching the three young Tauren, each with a different expression, Aldo and Tamara exchanged a glance and nodded to each other.

Sian suddenly felt a warm hand touch his forehead. He looked up and saw Aldo Thunderhorn, who was usually stern and reserved, looking at them with eyes full of approval.

The old hunter had practically watched the entire execution of their plan through Eagle Eye, which was why he admired these young children so much.

"You two little fellows did exceptionally well!"

Aldo used his rough, large hands to ruffle both young Tauren's manes into a mess. Then he laughed and said:

"You were able to weave traps and tactics into battle, and even more precious, you possess hearts that are calm without losing their passion."

"By my standards, little Whitehorn, you are already a hunter capable of standing on your own!"

He nodded lightly, then turned to Tamara and received her smiling acknowledgement.

This was affirmation of Aldo's judgment, and also affirmation of Sian's skill as a hunter. It meant that, with the recognition of Bloodhoof Village's two great hunting masters, a young hunter had finally been born.

His trial had been baptized in the flames of war rather than beast blood, perhaps signaling that his life would be turbulent and vast.

Aldo's other hand tousled Baine's fur. Baine Bloodhoof also waited nervously for his evaluation.

"It seems you have found the conviction you lacked, Baine Bloodhoof."

Aldo looked at the strong young Tauren warrior and kindly said, "A warrior's strength comes from anger, but a warrior's greatest growth lies in shedding a reckless heart."

"Face your anger rather than embrace it. That is the heart of a warrior."

"I think... we can begin looking forward to the day you become a warrior as great as your father."

Caught off guard by this affirmation, Sian was a little at a loss, while Baine's face was full of excitement.

Tamara took an item from the storage pouch at her waist and handed it to Aldo, who then solemnly handed it to Baine Bloodhoof.

What appeared before Baine Bloodhoof was a spear.

"Ice Spike. That is its name."

"Long, long ago, the Chieftain asked me to help select this weapon for you. I recommended a one-handed hammer, but Cairne wanted to choose a spear for his son as well. He said it was cool for father and son to use the same weapon."

"We argued with Stonehoof about it for a long time, but it seems I ultimately could not outstubborn a father." Aldo recalled the past with a trace of nostalgia.

He scratched his head and solemnly handed the spear to this overly young Tauren warrior, then smiled with emotion. "It has been waiting for the birth of a warrior. Though this day came a little early, I believe you will use it well."

Baine silently accepted the spear. In his memories, his father had always been a steady, gentle man who slowly smoked his pipe. He had never imagined that such a person would argue fiercely with others in public over such a simple reason.

Young Baine suddenly felt at a loss.

Tamara looked at her bewildered son and helplessly shook her head.

She bent down, rubbed Baine's hair, and softly said, "Whenever Cairne was troubled, he would secretly take this spear from its box at night, hold it beneath the oil lamp, and carefully maintain and polish it again and again."

"Though he never said it aloud, he had always been waiting—waiting for you to grow up, waiting for the day he could place it in your hands himself."

Tamara crouched down and gently touched her forehead to Baine's. "Cheer up, all right? Your father is just not very good at expressing himself, but you must believe that his love for you surpasses anyone else's!"

Baine nodded heavily, then said nothing.

Tamara touched her son's head with relief, then rose to her feet.

She looked gently at her beloved disciple, removed a recurved longbow with wooden grain from her back, and lightly held it out before Sian.