Abe the Wizard - Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Large Beast Traps
Translator: Exodus Tales Editor: Exodus Tales

Abel returned to the castle the next morning. After he had breakfast and rested for two hours, he returned to his private operation room in the Blacksmith’s Guild.
For the trillionth time, Abel was a bodybuilding trainer in his previous life. He was used to going hiking with his friends in the wild, which made him have a lot of experience in hunting. 21
This time, Abel wanted to make a giant bear trap according to his memories. As Master Bentham suggested, the wolfriders were very fast and flexible. They would often implement a hit-and-run strategy during battle. If they didn’t have a large number of soldiers to surround them, it would be very difficult to annihilate them. However, things would be completely different if we could make a large bear trap. If a wolfrider stepped on it, it would at the very least injured their leg. This could hugely reduce their speed, therefore they will no longer be a threat. 4
The beasts and humans of this world were both much stronger than the beasts and humans in the previous incarnation of earth. Thus, Abel thought that he needed something special to stop these wolfriders. 2
The components of the gigantic bear trap consisted of a large compression spring, two charm clamps, a clamp trigger, a button, and a chain. 3
After the compression spring was flattened with force, it was gently held secured with the clamp trigger. If someone stepped on it, the two sharp clamps would be released instantaneously—catching the prey with a tremendous amount of rebound force. Since the two sharp clamps were not fully enclosed yet, the more the prey struggled, the tighter the grip would be.
It would be easy to imagine if the mount wolf of a wolfrider was caught by this gigantic bear trap. With the speed of the wolfrider. the mount wolf would be in excruciating amounts of pain. Therefore, the wolf rider would most likely be shaken off by the mount wolf.
This world did not have such a large bear trap, therefore the placement of the traps should not attract too much attention to the orcs, especially if we add some more camouflage to it. 1
The process of making the trap was simple. The only trouble was the compression spring. According to Abel’s memory, the steel used in the spring must require a high carbon content, to maintain the steel’s elasticity. 1
Abel practiced by forging a rough model with a hundred skills. After several attempts of carburizing, a lot of small samples were made according to different carburizing ratios. After testing, he decided on the best sample, and the production process was finally determined. 2
Then, Abel began mass production. After he made ten compression springs, there were still a lot of materials left. He then made several large spiral springs which could be used as shock absorbers when he decided to upgrade the carriage in the future. 6
Abel did not make any other accessories of the gigantic bear trap him since that would take too much time. The compression springs were the component that mattered the most. The other parts could let other blacksmiths in the blacksmith shop take care of it.
Abel called his senior, Gordon, who gave him a drawn blueprint and dimensions of the bear trap’s other components, and requested it to be forged in 2 days. Gordon did not have a problem with the request since he ordered a few of the most capable blacksmith to work extra hours, to complete it as soon as possible. 6
Early next morning, when Abel arrived at the blacksmith shop, Gordon told Abel with a pair of tired red eyes, “Master Abel, all the parts are made according to your requirements, and they are placed in your operation room. ”
Abel was very surprised. He thought that it would have taken at least two days, but it was finished in one night. Looking at the tired red eyes of Gordon, He could not help but say, “Why didn’t you sleep last night? I don’t need these parts in a rush.”
“Since the blacksmiths heard that it was your command, they refused to delay it and worked overnight.” Gordon did not mention himself. He only gave the credit to the other blacksmiths, who was standing in front of Abel.
“Next time, when I forge a sword of hundred skill, the blacksmiths and you can watch on the side. Now, go to rest” Abel said with a smile. 1
“Thank you, Master Abel, I will let them know,” Gordon thanked Abel and ran off.
When Abel walked into the operation room, he saw a pile of accessories placed on the ground. It has been divided into ten parts. From these details alone, it was enough to show that Gordon was a very attentive person. 1
It took some effort to assemble such large bear traps, but Abel had always been a tough person, in half an hour, ten large traps were fully assembled. 4
Two horses were brought in, and each of them was strapped with five large traps. After it was secured, Abel waved a hand, signaling that they were ready to go. 1
Behind Harry Castle was a forest. Since Abel has been busy ever since he settled here, he never had the chance to explore this forest. He has heard that there were large beasts roaming around in there, Therefore Abel decided, this would be the place to test out his giant bear trap.
Although the castle has now begun to be on guard, when Abel left the castle with the 2 horses, no guard dared to ask anything. Abel’s current status was completely different from that when he first arrived. Everyone knew that Abel has now become a blacksmiths Master. In this world, the title of master could be attained by the elites of that particular profession. Therefore, they would be respected no matter where they go in the Holy Continent. 2
It was the sunniest part of the afternoon. The sun was shining through the gaps of the trees, scattering patches of lights over the fallen leaves on the ground. It made a dull crunching sound as Abel continued to walk. The horses were not very fond of the forest environment ether, as their nose began to make snorting sounds.
After he walked for about half an hour, Abel felt that he had arrived at the center of the forest. Although he did not see a single large beast along the way, he found a large pile of beast dung, which suggested there must be large beasts around here. The place was deserted, the last sign of civilization had already disappeared 10 minutes ago. Abel immediately knew this was the perfect place to put the bear trap since the trap was so powerful, it could not be placed anywhere close to humans. 1
Abel squatted down to looked for a beast’ s route on the ground. Beasts would always like to travel on the same route, and they would often leave some footprints behind. Therefore, experienced hunters would always know where the best place to set their traps 2
Although Abel didn’t have as much experience, he was still trained in this aspect. So after careful observation, he found a beast’s route. He immediately took out two gigantic bear traps from the horses. Then, he opened the clamps by force and secured the trigger. There were many techniques when it came to the placements of bear traps. You had to inspect the beast’s route properly in order to speculate the steps they would take. Even if the beast could dodge the first bear trap, it would not be able to escape the second one. 2
After the installation, Abel made an arrow marking on a tree. This mark was a reminder of where Abel had placed the trap and would make sure he wouldn’t step in it, himself. However, since there were arrows on the marking pointing towards different directions, it also allowed Abel to less likely get lost in the forest. 1
Abel continued to move forward. Every ten minutes, he would find a place to put the bear trap. Slowly, he walked for more than an hour, and all the large traps were placed.
The sky began to get dark. Abel was packing up his things, preparing to go back to the castle. There were still 2 hours before the sky was completely darkened. Until then, he could still see his way back.
At that moment, suddenly he heard a painful, yet angry scream from the distance.
A beast must have fallen for his gigantic bear trap. Only a beast could have made a noise in this forest. 1
Abel strapped his horse next to a tree and rushed in the direction of the sound. As Abel was running, he was constantly observing the surrounding environment, and the marking he made. It would be hilarious if he had fell for his own trap.
After running for ten minutes, Abel found the marking that he made. He slowed down and walked gently into the trap. 3
Although the sharp clamps had been triggered, there was no prey to be found anywhere. Abel squatted down and touched sharp teeth of the clamp with his hands. There was blood.
What triggered the trap might not be a beast after all. Although Abel doesn’t know what else could have triggered it, a beast definitely would not have the intelligence to free itself from it, especially without the help of a human hand. If the beast was very powerful, at most, it would just destroy the trap, not leaving it enclosed like this.
Could it be human? Abel shook his head. The voice he had just heard was clearly not human. That, he could be certain of.